O Wondrous Wielder of the Winds
by Rosalite
Summary: I, Acadia Jones, was just thinking of a good Winx Club fanfiction to write. Next thing I know, I'm somehow IN Winx Club! But now since I know what happens in the series & have successfully broken the 4th wall, I can prevent bad things from happening & make WC the kick-butt series it should be. Unfortunately, things don't work like that...(Latest Chap: Revelations, Part 2)
1. Intro

**Author's Note: Hello all! I am Rosalite, the brains behind the story. Unfortunately, I can't draw worth a damn, so there's currently no cover art. I don't have much to say about myself, because it's all below. Read on, dearest reader! )And don't forget to review).**

* * *

I, Acadia Renee Valerie Jones, just wanna go on record and say: fuck writer's block. I'm talking straight to hell on a shiny silver platter. May it burn in the deepest, hottest pit with Satan himself.

It's the sole reason I've had to redo my Diabolik Lovers fanfiction _two_ times already, and the meaning behind my other rarely updated stories.

Feeling frustrated, I slammed my laptop shut and punched the wall. I'd usually throw something out my bedroom window, but I stopped because my projectiles always ended up in the yard across the street (I have a good throwing arm) and my fucked-up, cheap-as-hell, hillbilly, country-ass, redneck, white-trash neighbors insisted because the projectile was in their yard, it was theirs.

This one time, I threw my dad's expensive Baume and Mercier watch (my dad's freakin' loaded) out the window (it had been the only throwable thing I could get my hands on) into their yard, and I literally had to _brawl_ Uncle Al (who's not my uncle but some middle-aged deadbeat who's so laidback, he insisted everyone calls 'uncle') for it. He'd tried to go all Bruce Lee on me, but his beer belly got in the way and I ended up kicking his fat ass. I'd thought one of the neighbors would have the decency to call the police when they saw a grown man and a teenage girl rolling around the yard across the street trying to pull each other's hair out, but I sadly was mistaken.

I punched my wall again and began doing that nervous pacing around my room. My bedroom was my center of operations. It was a spacious room in the front of the house with an alcove for a desk, a super-deep closet, and an expansive window (with a window seat) overlooking the street. I wasn't one of those girly girls who had Justin Beiber and Twilight posters plastered all over her wall. Instead, I had a complete bookshelf of manga. That's right, I was a total anime otaku. Fairy Tail, Dragon Ball, Bleach, Sailor Moon Crystal, Kuroshitsuji, Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo. You name it, I've watched it.

I stopped pacing and took a deep breath. There was no way I was going to get things done with an attitude like this. I dropped back down into my chair and turned my Toshiba laptop back on. A few moments later, I created a fresh new Word doc and logged into my Fanfiction account under my penname Rosalite(pronounced Rosa-light, and is somewhat inspired by the names of the 4 Heavenly Kings from Sailor Moon even though I created the name long before I even thought of reading _Sailor Moon_. I've thought about changing it to Roselite(you know, that pure gemstone?) but decided to stick with Rosalite since I didn't want to change it after all these years).

Before I started writing, I quickly went under my stories tab to see how many reads my fanfictions had. My most popular story, _Falling Apples,_ had more than 200 new reads, putting it at a near 17,000 reads. Having gotten that many with just 27 chapters in a short span of 6 months, I was proud of myself, but I didn't really feel accomplished like I should've been.

I pulled Word 2007 back up and positioned my hands on the keyboard. I searched my mind for a good plot for my latest _Falling Apples_ story, but found nothing. Ugh, who was I kidding? I couldn't write in this state. Knowing I wouldn't get anything accomplished on Word, I pulled Fanfiction back up and clicked on my profile. Like usual, it was blank except for a small notice about my writing pattern. When it came to profiles, I wasn't like the other FF users who had a whole detailed page about themselves. I've thought about making a bio, but I was too lazy to create one. What would I say about myself anyway?

That I was 16 and had tan skin, jet-black hair, greyish eyes, and natural peachy-pink lips? Was I supposed to talk about my love for anime (specifically the fighting ones), action, and alcohol (the 3 A's as I called them)? Not that I was an alcoholic or anything. I liked to drink, but I didn't have addiction. Yet. Was everyone supposed to know that I liked rollercoasters, flying kites, listening to wind chimes( they're really soothing), riding in my friend's convertible, and on my other friend's motorcycle? What about my 6 siblings and my temper problem?

Choosing not to deal with my profile today, I minimized FF and started pacing again.

It was no use. Writer's block was just fucking up my world right now. Wanting to clear my mind, I proceeded to the window. Whenever I needed to refresh my mind, I liked to let the wind into my bedroom. I didn't know why, but there was just something about the wind in my hair and fresh air in my face that made me want to jump for joy. Made me feel free. After struggling with the fucked-up iron latch, I was finally able to pull up the window.

"Oh yeah! That feels great!" I breathed as the cool breezes welcomed themselves to my room. I inhaled the pure air, relief flowing throughout my body. When I had fresh air in my lungs, I felt like I was dancing on the clouds. In my opinion, it was the best feeling in the world.

I sat down on my window seat as my whole body relaxed. Deciding music would increase the mood even more, I took out my iPhone 6, pulled up SoundCloud, and played "Back to Life" by Maria Kacanda.

Singing along with the song, I looked out the window at my street below. The first thing that caught my eye was Uncle Jaxxen (again, not my uncle) in his yard across the street.

He was one of the fucked-up (I say that about everything, right? I know I have a swearing problem. But I don't give a fuck), cheap-ass, hillbilly, white-trash neighbors I mentioned earlier. Jaxxen looked like he belonged on Duck Dynasty with that long, graying beard and matching hair flowing out from under his old worn-out trucker's hat. In his white tank and baby-blue boxers, Jaxxen was publicly exposing his extreme body hair and shameless indecency. The old fucker was sitting in his green lawn chair with a beer in hand, his old cat lying across his beer belly. After wedging a cigarette between his lips, he looked up and noticed me in the window. Jaxxen then nodded and gave me the middle finger.

I nodded and gave him the finger in return. That was our screwed-up way of paying respect to each other. Unfortunately, a man in the passenger seat of a passing car happened to glance out the window and see my gesture. An angry look spread across his face and he did the finger at me, holding it out of the window until the car disappeared down the street. "Jackass," I muttered, returning to my computer with a new state of mind. "Let's do this," I said confidently, cracking my fingers. And with that, I began typing away.

 _Click clack click clack click clack_ went my fingers gliding across the keyboard. I could hear my little sister watching Winx Club downstairs. "Magic Winx! Enchantix!" Stephanie, my five-year-old baby sister, yelled with the TV.

I allowed myself to smile as I typed. Ah, Winx Club. I remembered those days. Winx Club used to be (and secretly still was) my favorite cartoon. My oldest brother, Bryce, used to tease me about it back when we were younger. Even back then I was an aggressive tough girl, so I stopped watching it around my family due to my wounded pride.

Just as I thought I was getting somewhere in my writing, writer's block hit me like a Mack truck full-force. "Damn it!" I raged, bringing my fist down onto my desk.

"Language!" scolded Mom from somewhere downstairs.

I ignored her and swore again. Right when I was in the zone! Becoming enraged, I started kicking the walls and my furniture. Why. Did. This. Have. To. Happen. NOW? I screamed with frustration. I hated writer's block more than the Plastics at school! I grabbed my digital clock, ready to chuck it out the window.

Thankfully, I got a hold of myself just in time. There were other ways for me to deal with my anger. And besides, I didn't feel like wrestling Uncle Al again. I aggressively snatched up my One Direction notebook(a lame, cheap-ass, stereotyping gift from one of my aunts) and plopped back down onto my window seat, heated.

I flipped through to a clean page, and angrily gripped my pencil in deep thought. Back in 6th grade, my English teacher noticed I easily got frustrated with my writing, so she suggested I relive myself by fighting fire with fire. In order to get rid of writer's block, she said I write about something I knew I couldn't fail in, like things I didn't like. At first, that sounded a little weird, but ranting on paper actually did wonders for my anger.

Now, what was something really agitating that I had yet to complain about? I just about covered everything that fueled my hatred; the shitty Dunkin' Donuts around the corner, the Plastics at school (that one had been at least ten pages front and back. I know, I have problems), Marco from McDonald's, the Kardashians (especially Kim), Grandma's fruitcake (c'mon, woman! Who'd put prunes in a freakin' cake?), people who damage library books (I once checked out a book, and it had brown shit-like junk smeared on nearly every page), Barbie, perverts, fart (specifically my aunt's, which are so strong they could break a chain. Like seriously, woman. Go take a shit or something. Now I know why Grandma puts prunes in everything), non-Japanese manga, cockroaches, my oldest brother's friends, asparagus, etc….

I happened to glance out the window across the street. Uncle Jaxxen was still out there in his beer-can cluttered yard, smoking and drinking. But this time, Uncle Al was sitting in a lawn chair beside him, laughing and swearing heartily with his beer buddy. I narrowed my eyes. _Them._ The Trash, as my brothers called them. It wasn't because they were poor, but because they were outright disgusting like trash. First of all, there were like…7 different adults living over there with about 6 kids (that I knew of). But that was just an estimate—the Trash was constantly having other white-trash family and friends over, so I actually had no clue of the exact number of residents.

That was it! The Trash! They would be the topic of my newest rant. They were the perfect subject since there was so much I didn't like about them.

To start things off, their slubiness not only pissed me off, but the whole neighborhood. The Trash's _one_ house alone ruined the beauty of our entire street, South Chiltern Hill. Let's say you were a newcomer who was familiarizing yourself with the community. You happened to turn onto South Chiltern Hill and was immediately mesmerized by it. From cabins to brick homes to cottages, everything was different yet symmetrical and balanced.

All the lawns were manicured perfectly and beside each mailbox was an old, huge oak tree that completely shaded the sidewalk and street. Some of the friendly residents waved to you as you cruised by, and you waved back with a smile on your face.

Unfortunately, that smile disappeared the second you laid eyes on #64. It was the only torn, unkempt house in the neighborhood. The yard was full of weeds, empty beer and soda cans, old cigarettes, and other trash. Not only that, but the house's paintjob was old and peeling. To sum things up: the house itself was just outright disgusting and unpleasant. And to think I had the special privilege of waking up to the sight of it every morning.

The residents were just like their house—unappealing, trashy, and gross. I set to work on my newest rant paper, which was centered on the residents of the Trash:

 _Jerney: You have to be the biggest home wrecker in this city. I fucking hate the way you saunter around in your Confederate-flag bikini thinking you're hot stuff. First of all, you're stupid as hell because you're basically telling everyone you're racist. Second of all, I detest how you flip your hair thinking you're showing off—you're not fooling anyone with that stupid wig. It's not even on straight!_

 _Brayden: You're a wannabe man-slut to sum things up. Like your stupidass mom Jerney, you think all the "chicks" want you, but you're really out of your damn mind. None of the girls at school even wanna look at your ugly ass—not even the nerdy nerds. And you think drinking and smoking is going to get you somewhere, and it will._ Jail.

 _Sydnee: You've been pregnant so many times—or is that just your beer belly?—I don't even know how many kids you have anymore. It's said to think all of them are going to grow up to be just like you. C'mon woman, you're a terrible mother! With all those baby daddies and their financial support, taking care of your kids shouldn't be a problem. But no. At the end of every month, you always come back with a new purse or something while your kids are still walking around in two-sizes-too-small rags. What kind of bitch-ass mom does that to her own offspring?_

 _Uncle Al: You're a revolting, sorry-excuse for a man. All you do is drink, smoke, swear, and sit on your fat ass all day. How about getting a job to support you and your kid (that's right, I know about your love child with Sydnee)?_

 _Marriah: You're not sexy. Like, at all. Everyone knows you aren't naturally blond. You're forced Southern accent is irritating and your boobs are so fake. You spent a lot of money—perhaps all of it—on a botched boobjob. I mean, honestly! It's so obvious! One book is literally higher than the other, and you walk around showing your cleavage like you're Kim Kardashian. You need to sue that plastic surgeon. I'm not joking either_. Find _him and sue his ass dry._

 _Brayden: Quit hitting on my mom, you dumbass._

 _Uncle Jaxxen: Your mother was obviously high when she named you. You're 6_ _th_ _sense for drinking obviously came from her. Hell, for Halloween, you somehow managed to stuff your beer belly into a Bud Lite box and tried to pass it off as a costume. Also, you need to audition for Duck Dynasty ASAP. You already have the country-ass accent and beard to match. You'd fit right in. I'm calming down now, so I'll sum it up in a few words: you're an alcoholic, a pervert, gold digger, and a bum._

I breathed out in relief. That really helped. Now, to get back to the real stuff. I sat my ass at my desk _again_ , and was about to start a new _Falling Apples_ fanfiction, but I stopped myself just in time. Trying to force another chapter would just give me writer's block again. I needed something fresh. Something new.

Yeah, I already had four fanfictions, but I didn't wanna work on those. I wanted to try my hand at another fanfiction. But off what cartoon? There were so many, but I needed to choose something I was well familiar with.

Suddenly, my little sister burst into my bedroom in her Bloom-Believix costume. "Cadey, Cadey! I'm a fairy!" she laughed, waving her Tecna doll in my face.

"Not now, Steph," I hissed, moving her arm out of the way. I was trying to brainstorm, which was impossible with my Winx-club obessed-

"Winx Club! That's it!" I cried out, "Steph, you're a genius!"

"I know," giggled Steph, "now if you'd excuse me, I have more Winx Club to watch." Humming the Enchantix song, my little sister skipped out of my room.

Winx Club! Why hadn't I thought of that before?! I knew my way around the WC universe, so writing a fanfiction about it would be a piece of cake! But the question remained: what would the story be about? I'd skimmed through the Fanfiction archive before, and all the popular stories were about pairings or the next generation of WC.

But I didn't want to use those ideas; I wanted to do something no one's done before. But what? Coming up with a whole new plot and villains would be way too complicated. I'd thought about giving a FloraxHelia story a try, but I was not really into all that romantic stuff. Action was where my interest was.

In that case, maybe a Sailor Moon story would be better? At least that was a "girl show" with some decent action. I had nothing against Winx, but the fights could've been a little better. I mean, seriously! If Aisha had the power of water manipulation, why didn't she ever use it? And how come Musa never used her ability of sound to kill an enemy's hearing forever? I knew it was a show for small girls, but c'mon! The fights looked way too simple, and the characters never used their all abilities to the fullest. It was just throw a spell, dodge a spell. Throw a spell, dodge a spell. Nothing more, nothing less.

I yawned. All this thinking was kind of making me sluggish. Maybe I needed to take a quick nap, and resume the brainstorming later. Yeah.

I sleepily kicked off my shoes and laid across my bed. Maybe Steph could help me write my fanfiction when I woke up.

"Magic Winx!" was the last thing I heard before I slowly dozed off into dreamland…

* * *

"Hey, lady! Get out the damn road!"

The sounds of frantic car honking and shouting woke me right up. The first thing I saw was a flash of red and blinding headlights so I screamed and shielded my face, expecting to get run over. After a few seconds of quivering, I dared to peak through a space in between my fingers, wondering why I wasn't dead yet. The car that nearly hit me was gone, and all I could see was miles and miles of empty street stretching ahead.

How the fuck did I end up in the street anyway? I wasn't _that_ careless. With trembling legs, I slowly rose back up to my feet. One of my brothers must've thought this as a dumb prank. What the hell was their problem? I could've got kille-

"Oh my fucking gosh!" I gasped, my hands flying up to my mouth as I looked around. I was surrounded by glass, futuristic structures with high, busy freeway ramps circling around them. I cringed and covered my ears as a train on the bridge overhead raced down its track with a loud _whoosh._ This was not South Chiltern Hill!

"Hey, you! Lady!" I whip-turned to see a _floating_ red car parked behind me. An older-looking guy stepped out of it onto the street with an annoyed look on his face. "What's your problem? Standing in the road is a good way to get _killed._ "

My brain could barely process his voice, I was so awestruck. With my mouth hanging wide open, I managed a nod as I continued to stare at his _floating_ car. Why the hell was this? "Kids these days," grumbled the man, apparently losing interest in me as he marched back over to his _floating_ car. "Can't even trust 'em with their _own_ lives."

With my trap still wide open, I watched the man climb back into his vehicle, crank up its engine, and start back down the street in his _floating_ car. "What the fuck?" I managed in an unsteady voice, staring at its back bumper until it disappeared around the corner.

"I must be dreaming," I said dizzily, feeling my head. "There's no way this is reality." I looked down at my feet. They were still in the same Converse, but something seemed different about them. I wriggled my toes. Oddly, for this to be a dream, I could feel them rubbing against each other perfectly. I stared at my shoes closer, trying to find the difference in them. I gasped in horror when I finally put my finger on it.

They were… _cartoonized!_

 _This is a dream, this is a dream, this is a dream._ I started to pinch my arm frantically. When that didn't work, I resorted to punching myself a few times, choosing to ignore the looks the other cartoonized people were giving me.

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, OH MY FUCKING GOSH! I wasn't waking up! THIS WAS MOTHERFUCKING REAL!

From behind me, a different _floating_ car was honking angrily at me. "Hey! Get out the road!" yelled a feminine voice from within it. "I gotta be somewhere in few minutes."

Usually, I would've told her to rack off, but I was too shocked by _everything._ Blocking out the surrounding commotion, I stared down at my new cartoonized fingers. How did this even happen? My hands began to shake and the wind started to howl out of nowhere and the sky grew dark.

Civilians on the sidewalk picked up the pace so they wouldn't get caught in the incoming storm, and the _floating_ cars had enough sense to drive around me. I was in a cartoon. I was in a cartoon. I was in a _cartoon._ My loose black hair began to blow as the gusts got more powerful. I was in a cartoon! And that meant I wasn't in the real, fucked-up world anymore.

The Trash, the Plastics, Grandma's stupid fruitcake… They were all gone. All my problems were gone!

"Woohoo!" I exclaimed, leaping for joy in the middle of the street. While I was in midair, it felt like the wind embraced me. Like we somehow shared a connection and were as one for that split second. When I landed on the ground, the howling gusts went away and all traces off the storm cleared out.

"Hey! Will ya get out of the road already!" shouted a driver in a _floating_ car behind me.

For once, I looked behind my shoulder. "Oops. Sorry about that," I called, sidestepping onto the sidewalk. I accidentally bumped into a man in the process. "Oops. My bad," I giggled. I was in a really good mood; usually, any normal person would be freaking out about being teleported into another world (dimension? Realm?), but then again, I wasn't your normal person.

"It's no problem." The young man was pleasantly upbeat. "I could tell you're a newcomer by the way you were holding up traffic back there."

I giggled again. "Is it really that obvious?"

"Completely."

Now that we were on the subject, now would be a good time to ask where I was. (I was kind of hoping I was in Sailor Moon or Dragon Ball, but the "animation" didn't fit match neither.) "By the way, I'm kind of lost. Could you tell me where I am?"

The man kept his smile. "No prob. You're in the capital city of the universe. Welcome to Magix City."

* * *

"Oof! Damn!" I cursed as I accidentally lost my footing and slid down the muddy slope. I landed face-flat in an equally muddy puddle. I swore again as I rose to my feet. Shit. I looked down at myself. Great. My clothes were ruined now. Eh, no big deal. Lake Roccaluce was somewhere around. If I came across it, I'd just take a quick swim to wash the mud off. EZ-PEE-ZEE LEMON SQUEEZY.

I hummed to myself as leaves and twigs crunched under my feet with every step. With every hum, the wind seemed to brush against me and fill me with even more glee. It was so…refreshing. The nice gusts made the trees rustle, and I swore I could hear the sounds of distant wind chimes from somewhere. Alfea had to be close.

See, I had a plan. If I was in Winx Club, then that only meant one thing: destiny brought me here. Obviously. It couldn't be a coincidence that I got morphed into my all-time favorite cartoon. No fuckin' way. I had to be here for a reason.

Anyway, if I was in Magix, then my only reasonable option was to enroll at Alfea. Hopefully, I had magic. Didn't all girls in this dimension?

"HELLO, NEWCOMER!"

I yelped, startled, and whirled around to see some creepy guy in all-gray robes standing behind me. "What the fluff!" I cried out, jumping back. "Who the hell are you?" I took a long, hard, good look at him. His masses of thick black hair covered his eyes, and a worn-out top hat set atop his head. He kind of reminded me of the Undertaker from Kuroshitsuji.

"Who are _yooouuuuuu_?" The creep giggled slowly. "I don't recognize you."

"Wait. What do you mean 'recognize'?" I demanded.

"I know the faces of all the Alfea students," replied Creep with a creepy smile, "and I've never seen _yooouuuuuu_."

Hold up. Who w _as_ this guy? Last time I checked, a pervert in the woods was never written into the storyline. Maybe I was in the future or something? "Wait. Alfea's around here?" I asked hopefully, not even bothering to question him.

"Very. It's just beyond those treeees." Creep slowly raised a finger and pointed at the trees in the distance. "You can't miss it."

"Thanks." I was too anxious and excited to feel disturbed by his presence. Without saying anything more to him, I started jogging in that direction. I'd come _way_ too far to get held up. First, I had to find directions to get to Alfea. And since I didn't have the proper currency for the bus (fuck American dollars), I had to wander through the city by foot. Then I came across this random forest and I've been lost in it ever since.

"There's something different about you," said Creep, who was supposingly following me, from behind.

I was sure to stay a few feet ahead of him. He looked like the type to land a slap on a butt cheek every once in a while. What was he doing in Alfea's woods anyways? Didn't they have security or something?

"I am," I called over my shoulder. "I'm from…someplace far, far, far away."

"I see. And since you're going to enroll at Alfea, I can only imagine you have magic. But of what kind? Absorption? Electricity? Water?"

His question made me stop dead in my tracks. "I…don't know," I admitted slowly, reality (well, part of it) hitting me like a wrecking ball. Pun intended.

If I could see Creep's eyes, I knew he'd be raising an eyebrow. "You don't know? Well, you must be one of those confused ones. Do you even have magic?"

"I…don't…know."

"I see. Well, you must have magic in order to become an Alfea student. This much I hope you know." He tickled my sides. "But don't worry about it. You can dwell here in the forest with me."

I kicked him. "Don't touch me, creep."

Creep didn't seem bother by the assault. "Luckily for you, there _is_ a way you can determine your magical makeup. _If_ you have one."

"Really? _How_?" I asked suspicious.

Walking the speed of an old lady in high heels, Creep started towards the direction of Alfea. "Just follow me."

I raised an eyebrow. Maybe this was a trap. Maybe he was planning to rape me. He was obviously attracted to young women; why else would he be stalking around an all-girl school? But then again, I didn't know what the hell I was doing, so Creep was my only hope of finding out if I was a fairy. "Fff-ine! I'm coming!" I sighed like I was annoyed, proceeding after him.

I could see Alfea's giant structure through the treetops, which made me a little queasy. Creep was waiting for me behind a tree. "See the school?" he asked, pushing aside some leaves and pointing straight ahead.

I bent down into the shrubs so the bushes would hide me just in case. I then pushed aside enough of the leaves so I could see Alfea. From my position, I could see the school gates, which was a large pink archway with two opened wing-like gates. And since the gates were open, I could see into the central courtyard, which was surprisingly empty.

"Walk over to the gate," instructed Creep lowly.

"What? Why? You aren't trying to jump me, are you? Because if you are-"

"Alfea is protected by a barrier spell. Only those with magic can pass through it onto the campus."

 _Shit, why didn't I think of that?_

"Won't someone see me?" I asked worriedly.

"The students are currently on vacation; no one is around except for a few teachers and the headmistress maybe."

"Right." I nodded and took a deep breath. My next few steps would determine my future. "Here goes nothing." Anxiety –stricken, I took a baby step forward. A gust breezed by, rustling the trees. This time, I took a bigger step forward. Another, stronger gust made the trees rustle even louder.

Why the fuck was I so scared? This was so unlike me. I wasn't going to be intimated by some spell or whatever it was. Clenching my fists at my sides, I marched straight over to the gate. Around me, the wind was blowing quite fiercely.

When I made it to the gate, I stopped. If I was a fairy, I would be able to pass through into the courtyard. If I wasn't, then the spell would probably throw me back in the woodlands. Eh, I looked at it this way: if _I wasn't_ a fairy and the barrier _did_ chuck me into the forest, I'd probably get a concussion, fall out unconscious for a few days, and end up back in my world. The Real World.

And if I woke up to see I was still in Magix, I would still have other options. I could simply disguise myself as a boy and enroll at Red Fountain. There. Problem solved. See, I was smart. Ish.

"Alright! Here I go!" I declared, closing my eyes. And as if I was running into battle, I charged forward. I partly had been expecting myself to bounce off the shield, but that surprisingly didn't happen. _Huh?_ I opened my eyes to see that I was standing in the central courtyard, surrounded by the rest of the pink castle.

"I did it!" I triumphed, "I-I'm magical!" From behind the tree, Creep gave me a thumbs up. I gave him one in return. I was so happy! Like Steph, I'd always dreamed of becoming a fairy when I was little. Now, it was finally going to happen.

* * *

I bit my tongue as I counted up my money. So far, I had 4 different currencies (some paper, some coins) but they didn't add up to much.

I sighed and stuffed all of it back into my money jar. Life in Magix was _not_ as easy as it looked. I set my jar back into my new purse (I found it lying around in the street, and I was like: score!) and started out of the alley back onto the busy Magix street.

I was pretty much use to Magix already. It's pretty much like the Real World if you get over the _floating_ cars and high-tech gadgets and machines.

The hard part was its culture. Since it was the capital planet of the entire magic dimension, its population consisted of inhabitants from all the different realms and planets (thus the reason I had so many money currencies). And there were so many languages! Thankfully, most of the people spoke English (or whatever it might be called here. I was kind of surprised the main language wasn't Italian). I wasn't complaining about anything, though. I was gonna get used to everything eventually.

As I was crossing the street, I nearly got ran over by a group of Specialists on hoverboards. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" I shouted as they swooshed by. They ignored me and kept going.

I watched enviously as they disappeared around the corner on their boards. I had to get myself one.

No, no, top priorities came first. And that meant making enough money to get into Alfea before the next school term started. I had no idea how much a scholarship cost, but I could guess the amount was large. Very large.

But that was okay! I wasn't going to rest until I had enough! So far I managed to get two jobs but ultimately lost two jobs. How did it happen? Well…

 ***Flashback*  
** _"Yes! This is so easy!" I insisted, stacking another clean plate atop the stack of equally clean dishes. I was going to get rich in no time. Hopefully._

 _I hummed the Believix song as I washed another dish. I was in a great mood even though I was in a stuffy-ass kitchen with a shitload of dishes to wash. Eh, work was work. I had no complaints as long as I was getting paid. Eventually, I would be at Alfea helping the Winx. That is, if I was in their timeline._

 _I put the last of the dishes in the soapy water to soak and moved on to the ones I had already cleaned. Grabbing the cloth, I began to dry them happily. I still couldn't believe I was in the magic universe. Out of all cartoons, Winx Club! This had to mean something!_

 _A draft brushed against me, making me feel even more hopeful. Would I get to fight? Who will be my allies? The Winx? What if there were bigger forces at work? What if all of this is a piece of a bigger puzzle?_

 _Another draft breezed by, but was this time much stronger. I gasped as it made a stack of plates wobble. "No, no, no!" I panicked, hurrying over just in time to steady the tower. That was way too close._

 _Just then, I heard the plates on the opposite counter teeter behind me._ What the? _I whirled around and hurried over to them, steadying them before they fell. Unfortunately, the ones behind me came crashing down onto the floor, shattering into hundreds of pieces._

 _I cringed. That…wasn't my fault. Was it?_

" _What's going on in here?" demanded the boss, barging into the kitchen. He took one good look at the floor. I knew what he was going to say long before he even said it._

" _You're FIRED!"  
*_ _ **End of Flashback***_

 _ ***Another Flashback*  
**_ _"Hello and welcome to Joyful Burger!" I greeted cheerfully, "how can I help you this wonderful day?" The four girls sitting at the booth looked me up and down._

" _Like, what the hell are you wearing?" asked the blond, wrinkling her nose. I looked down at myself. I wasn't wearing anything fancy. Just a pair of jeans, a plain white tee, an apron, and my Converse._

" _Are you like, poor or something?" asked the brunette in disgust, "your clothes are so trashy."_

 _I pressed my lips together. "Can I take your order?" I asked, now forcing the cheeriness._ Ignore them, Cadey. They're just bitches. Don't let them bother you.

 _Redhead laughed airily. "You poor thing. You're probably so poor, you've been forced to work at a dump like this. I pity you." The other girls giggled._

" _I bet you're one of those homeless girls living in the dumpster," said the one with black hair in a sickeningly sweet tone, "I wonder. Why did you get a job here? Was prostituting getting too hard for you?"_

 _I gasped and the girls laughed. NO SHE DIDN'T. "Are you ready to order?" I asked, struggling to keep my cool._

" _You called that one, Candi," Blondie giggled to the black-haired one. "She kinds of looks like a slut when you think about it. I bet the reason she stopped prostituting was because she wasn't good and men stopped coming to her."_

 _I bit my lip so hard, I could taste blood. "Are you ready to order?" I repeated._

" _Or maybe she was just too expensive," suggested redhead, glaring at me. "Her boobs are kind of big, so maybe she charged more."_

 _Brunette snorted. "They're probably fake. How sad. Instead of buying food for herself, she chose to buy plastic for her body." She rolled her eyes. "Girls these days. Such a shame."_

 _Candi yawned. "The indecency epidemic is so real. Anyway, let's go ahead and eat so we can get out of this dump."_

 _The other girls seconded their agreements._ Finally. _I waited patiently as the girls looked over the menus. "Everything looks and sounds so disgusting," scowled Brunette. "How can people eat this garbage?"_

" _Probably because they_ are _garbage." Blondie flipped her hair over her shoulder and looked back up at me. "Hey, do you guys sell any_ real _food here? Some of us are watching our weight."_

 _I nodded slowly. "We have a variety of salads-"_

" _They probably go straight to your hips," commented Candi rudely. She looked straight at me. "Maybe you should try one. You could afford to gain some weight. Oh, wait. You can't afford a bigger size of pants now can you?"_

That's it! _Supernatural winds began to blow around the restaurant. "You four are the rudest, bitchiest girls I've ever met!" I raged at them, throwing my pad and pencil on the floor. The winds picked up. "I'm not a prostitute, and I'm definitely not poor." Well, the poor part was kind of a lie. A tornado was forming behind me , picking things up in its path. But oddly, my feet remained firmly on the ground._

" _I don't know who the hell you think you are, but I can tell you one thing!" I yelled at them. All around me, people were screaming and avoiding the projectiles the tornado was throwing. "You all belong in hell!" That's when it happened. I was so angry, I accidentally released an omnidirectional air wave._ _The people all around me screamed as the wind hit them full force, throwing them onto walls and the counter. The four girls, who happened to be sitting by the window, screamed as my wind hit them as well. The impact was so strong, it sent them flying through the window and onto the sidewalk outside._

 _I gasped in horror. Did I just—_

" _That girl! She's a monster!" yelled one of the customers, pointing at me._

" _No! I didn't mean to-"_

" _She's a witch!" cried out a woman._

" _No! No, I'm not!" I shouted at her, "it was accident!"_

" _Someone call the authorities!" ordered a woman who was picking herself off the ground_

Shit. Time to fly. _Panic-stricken, I raced for the backdoor. I was as good as fired.  
_ _ ***End of Flashback***_

And that was how I lost two jobs and found out I had the power of the air and wind. But a question _still_ remained: was I a witch, or a fairy? Honestly, I didn't think there was a different between the two. Fairies just chose to use their magic for good, while witches for evil.

And in that case, I was a fairy. For now. Hehehe.


	2. Troll, Stella, and a Kidnapping

**Author's Note: How about Truth or Dare for the next-next chapter? Hehehe...**

* * *

Alright, time for round three!

I adjusted my name time, puffed out my chest, and marched into my new place of employment, holding myself like Donald Trump. This time, I wasn't going to let Kim Kardashian (who probably didn't exist in this universe) wannabes get under my skin.

I wandered into the department store, which looked like a unicorn vomited all over it. All the clothes were glittery, bright, and colorful and the cheesiest, girliest songs ever were blasting out of the unseen speakers. Knowing I was leaving my sanity at the door, I went over to the front desk.

The lady operating it took one glance at me and frowned. "You must be the new employee," she said disapprovingly.

"That's me!" I exclaimed optimistically, already fighting the urge to strangle her. It didn't take a genius to know she was going to give me shit.

The woman adjusted her glasses and glanced at my nametag. "From the looks of you, I can already tell you're another one of those good-for-nothings, but I unfortunately am not responsible for hiring new employees."

Oh! She wasn't the boss? That changed things. Hehehe….

The lady furrowed her brows. "Your job is to assist the shoppers; persuade them to buy our merchandise and answer any of their questions."

Oh, so I was a personal shopper now? How demeaning. Now if I had the same occupation in Los Angeles and got to work for the Kardashians (I knew I said I didn't like them, but hey! That's good money), that'd be a whole different story.

"And for your first assignment of the day…" The lady (whom I was officially naming 'Troll') glanced past me at something. "Is to assist one of our regular customers." She smiled tauntingly and pointed at the thing she was looking.

I looked over my shoulder to see a blond entering the store. My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I recognized her. Stella! Her fashion statement screamed season one with her short tied green tank, orange skirt, and green wedges. "I'll get to work right away!" I assured Troll with real optimism.

Doing my best to control myself, I strolled over to Stella, who had already started going through the clothes racks. "Hello, there! I'm Acadia and I'll be your…eh… _personal_ shopper for the day." Alright, it was still demeaning to call myself that even if I was offering my services to a princess.

Stella looked me up and down. "You're new," she frowned, "where's Madeline?"

 _She probably got fired._ "Madeline's not in today," I responded patiently, "but I'm to take her place."

"Hmph. Just great. First a heel on one of my favorite pairs of shoes broke, and then my personal shopper gets replaced with some stranger," complained Stella, starting for the jeans section. "Can this day get any worse?"

Oh, right. How could I forget? Stella in the first seasons was the definition of a bitch. That was just grand for me.

Remembering it was my job to accompany Stella, I hurried after her. "Well, I guess you'll have to do," Stella was saying like I had been following and listening to her the whole time, "you might have no taste in fashion whatsoever, but I'll need _someone_ to carry my stuff."

Wait. _What_? That wasn't in the job description.

Something told me Troll wasn't going to be the only one putting me through shit…

* * *

"Can you believe it? She had the nerve to criticize _my_ outfit!" went on Stella in disgust, holding a shirt up to her body in front of the mirror. "Like, who did she think she was?" She tossed the shirt onto the pile—no, _mountain_ of clothes I was holding.

I'd got tired of her talking _real_ quick. All Stella did was complain, rant, and enthuse about shopping; she deserved the title "spoiled princess" big time. Now I knew why Troll assigned me to her. I was seriously regretting ever unexplainably teleporting into this universe.

Why didn't I get poofed into _One Piece_ so I could stare at Zoro's abs? LIFE WAS SO UNFAIR!

"Hey, are you listening to me?" asked Stella suddenly, turning around to look at me for once.

 _What do you_ _ **think**_ _?_ "Huh? Oh…yeah. I was just…wondering what skirt would look best with that top," I lied. Though I hated dealing with her, I knew Stella's attitude would get better in the future. So I was dealing with it…for now.

"At least _someone's_ doing something right." Stella flipped her blond hair over her shoulder. "It's almost time for school to start back at Alfea and I'm gonna need at least fifty new outfits for the school term."

"Why so many?" I asked with newfound interest.

"Well, there are school dances, get togethers with the Specialists from Red Fountain, parties, and all sorts of social gatherings like that. And as a princess, I have to look stunning as the sun for everything." She gave me a little twirl.

From the information Stella was giving me, it sounded like she was going to school to party, not to learn. That would change this school term. "Sounds festive." I winked. "What kind of things do you study at Alfea? I heard it's the most topnotch magic school in Magix."

"Oh you know. Typical stuff like convergence magic, math, potionology. Boring things like that." Stella pulled an orange dress off a clothes rack and disappeared into a dressing room, obvious expecting me to wait on her every call and beckon.

 _Boring?_ Oh how out of it this girl was. While she was taking important things like that lightly, the witches at Cloud Tower and beyond were learning advanced magics that would really come in handy later on in their lives.

And here I was with magic, but didn't know how to use it. I would be more than grateful to be attending Alfea to learn more about my powers of the air and wind. But alas, I didn't say that. In time, Stella would learn how to be more appreciative. Hopefully.

"How does this one look?" asked Stella, emerging from the dressing room with the orange dress on. The tight-fitting dress had taken the shape of her body, making her curves look even curvier.

"Stunning as the sun." And I meant it.

And for the first time, Stella smiled at me modestly. Seeing her smile made me feel bubbly inside. Bright. "With a few accessories and the right pair of shoes, I'll look even more dazzling," said the blond, going back into the fitting room. "Could you hand me that little green dress?"

I set the pile— _mountain_ of clothes on the bench and began rummaging through it. "Uh…which one?" The pile— _mountain_ was full of greens.

"Hmm. That's a good question. You know what? Give me all of them. I'm in a good mood today and trying on clothes is the only thing that can make it even better."

Yep. I was going to be here for a while.

* * *

I slurped my smoothie loudly, disregarding the looks of disgust Troll was giving me. "Well, it's almost time for the store to close," she smirked, looking down at her wrist watch. She smiled grimly. "And we all know what that means."

I raised an eyebrow and slurped louder. "What _does_ it mean?" I asked, knowing my ignorance was going to ruffle Troll's feathers.

Zeke, the other handsome employee, laughed. "You don't know? Well, I guess you wouldn't since this is only your first day. I'm surprised Veraminta didn't tell you about it," he said, glancing at Troll. The three of us were at the front desk, getting ready to close the store.

I choked on my smoothie. _Veraminta?_ What. The. _FUCK?_ What kind of stupidass name was that? Her mother was OBVIOUSLY high when she was giving birth. "What are you talking about?" I asked, wheezing and laughing at the same time.

Troll glared and growled at me as if knowing the cause of my laughter. "It means _I'm_ going to get a raise," she smirked, holding her chin high.

"Say what?"

"See, the boss likes to get us in the competitive spirit," began Zeke, flipping his brown masses out of his face. "So he established a competition among us employees. Whoever sells the most merchandise at the end of every week becomes qualified for a prize. The results are tallied at the end of the week, and whoever sold the most merchandise wins a price. And this week, the boss decided to be generous; whoever wins this week earns a raise."

I knit my eyebrows. Of course _Troll_ wouldn't tell me anything about this. And out of all of us, I needed that raise the most.

"And since the store's about to close, we can go ahead and see the results." Troll kept her smirk. She swiped a pair of keys off the desk by the cash register. "Now, just let me lock up-"

"Wait!" Stella suddenly barged out of the jungle of clothes racks, nearly throwing herself over the front counter. "I still have to check out." She snapped her fingers and piles and piles of levitating clothes floated over to the counter. "Here's my stuff." She snapped her fingers again and the heaps of clothes landed on the counter. "Sorry it took so long," said Stella, observing her nails as Zeke went through the ordeal of ringing up _all_ her stuff. "I totally got distracted by the shoes."

I kept slurping my smoothie, rolling my eyes at the princess's obsession for fashion. I'd spent the whole day chasing her around and carrying her stuff. It was someone else's turn to endure her.

"Uh-huh. I hope you found everything you needed." The sarcasm in Zeke's voice was undeniably obvious. But alas, the thick-skulled Stella didn't see or hear it.

"Eh, not everything. I totally suggest you guys expand your jewelry boutique; I think diamond and crystal earrings would make a nice edition." Stella flipped her shiny hair over her shoulder and took her credit card out of her extremely expensive-looking purse.

"Uh-huh." Zeke rang up another dress and stared hopelessly at the massive piles of stuff he had yet to ring up.

Troll, who was probably annoyed because Stella was using the valuable time she could've been using to gloat about her victory, rolled her eyes. "Oh please. Quit doing it the old-fashioned way." She snatched the barcode reader and pointed it at the heap of merchandise Stella was trying to buy. A green light beam scanned all the piles— _mountains_ and uploaded the prices of everything into the cash register.

Damn. Talk about high-tech. I inched over to Zeke and got a glimpse of the screen. I started choking for real the second I saw how much Stella's total was.

"I mean, every girl likes diamonds," went on Stella, effortlessly handing her credit card over to Zeke.

"Mhm-mmm." Zeke swiped it once and the printer began to print Stella's receipt. Troll and I just stared as the growing strip of paper stretched on and over the counter, expanding all the way across the shiny floor towards the escalators that lead down to the first floor. While Stella kept babbling about diamonds, the three of us employees speechlessly watched the receipt as it grew to reach the back of the store.

After a while, the printer made a weird sound and Stella's receipt stopped growing. "Ma'am, the printer seems to have run out of ink," reported Zeke, holding back a laugh. "Can I have your email address so I can send you the rest of the receipt?"

While Stella gave him her information, I leaped over the counter and jogged across the department store, running along the receipt. The damn thing reached all the way to the bathrooms in the back. Because it had ran out of ground to cover, it was layered on top of layers towards the end.

"Damn," I muttered, stooping down and taking as much of it as I could into my arms.

Careful not to entangle myself in it, I carried the receipt all the way back to the front counter, the rest of it trailing behind me. "Here you go!" I announced, dropping the armful of receipt onto the counter.

"I have to go now; my father, King Radius, is hosting a dinner tonight and as the princess of Solaria, I have to be there." Zapping her mountains of merchandise and receipt with a yellow bolt, she started out of the store with her stuff levitating behind her. "Oh and by the way, thanks for helping me Acadia. I'll be back tomorrow and you can help me shop for the perfect jewelry."

"I'll be looking forward to it," I called to her sarcastically. I turned around to see Zeke wearing a smile and Troll turning bright red. "What the fudge's wrong with you guys?" I asked, retaking my smoothie and plopping up on the counter.

"You were Stella's assistant today?" asked Zeke, looking sorry for me for a second.

"Yeah. Consider your fucking lucky because-"

"I guess that settles it," announced Zeke, "there's really no reason to determine who the winner is when it's obvious you won."

" _Huh_?" I started choking _again._

"Stella spent more money all in one day then what the store usually makes in two or three months," replied Zeke, "and since you helped her make that happen-"

"I GET A RAISE!" I practically yelled. I shot Troll a _take-that-motherfucker_ look.

"That's impressive, considering this is only your first day of work." Zeke patted me on the back.

Yay! At this rate, I would probably have enough for Alfea in no time! Maybe things were looking up after all…

* * *

With aching feet and my heavy bag slung over my shoulder, I trudged down the city sidewalk. Man, fuck work even if I did miraculously earn a raise. What I would do to have a pair of wings right now. But unfortunately, I didn't know how to transform just yet.

"You look down. What's the deal?"

I looked up to see Stella standing in my way, observing her nails. "Stella? But aren't you supposed to be in Solaria?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Eh, royal dinners are so boring. There are never any hot princes there anyway." Stella twirled a lock of blond hair around her fingers. "And I couldn't think of anything else to do, so I sent my stuff to Solaria and decided to find something to do here."

Wait. So was Stella saying she wanted to hang out with me? SWEET! I immediately forgot all about my troubles. "So what did you have in mind?" I asked, inwardly squealing at the fact I was hanging out with _Stella_ from _Winx Club._

"I dunno—I heard some Specialists are in town. Maybe we'll find a cute guy to-"

I stopped listening as a wind brushed against my body, alarming me. "Something's wrong," I whispered, grabbing Stella's wrist.

"Wait a minute, where are we going?" squeaked Stella as I dragged her across the street, disrupting traffic. "The Specialists are the other way!"

"Something's wrong," I repeated, going in the direction the breeze had come from. Enduring Stella's whining, complaining, and even threats, we came across a venue. Iron chairs were arranged outside and all types of flashy ads with pictures of fancy drinks were posted on the brick wall. The building was obviously a bar and from the lack of windows, I could tell it was an underground one.

I opened the door to find a spell of glass stairs descending deep into the darkness like a basement staircase. "You didn't tell me we were going out for a drink. I would've changed into something else." Stella put her hands on her hips and snorted. "And now that I think about it, a strawberry margarita sounds very refreshing right now."

I did something rare and considered the consequences of going down there. "Stella, at least what age do you have to be to enter a bar here in Magix?" I asked, biting my lip.

"Twenty one," said Stella, sounding every bit disgusted as me.

"Damn." Even in this universe, I couldn't catch a break.

"I know right. But don't worry about it. We should be able to get in without anyone questioning us. People always tell me I look mature for my age anyway." Stella fingercombed her hair. "And don't worry. If anyone says anything or gets suspicious, we can just leave before someone decides to call the authorities. It's as simple as that."

I nodded. I was still getting bad vibes from down there, which couldn't be a good thing. Eh, maybe I was just sensing the negativity from a bar fight or something. Whatever it was, it couldn't be that serious if Stella wasn't sensing it.

"I could go for a mimosa," I said, suddenly craving alcohol as the two of descended down the stairs. Oddly, one part of the staircase was spiral, which would be a deathtrap for a drunk. "I've never been inside an underground bar before," I whispered as we came to a pair of glass doors at the end of the stairs. They were sided by thick black lampposts and by the cracks in them, it wasn't hard to guess someone (most likely a drunk) either dropped it or tried to use it as a weapon.

"Well, let's go it." Stella grasped one of the shiny handles. "Be sure to look out for hot guys. I always get them to pay for my drinks." The second she opened the door, we stepped in a puddle. We both looked down at the same time and were immediately startled. The stuff we were standing in…it was… _red!_ Stella's hand flew up to her mouth.

That was when we noticed it. All the bodies and corpses laying around. Neither of us could speak as our eyes drifted around the place, mentally questioning the reason behind the bodies. Honestly, it looked like _everyone_ was dead. The bartender's corpse was lying across the bar, dead men and women on the floor were surrounded by shattered glass and the remains of whatever alcoholic drinks they had been drinking before disaster struck, and blood! There was blood _everywhere._

Alright, _something_ had gone down. But what?

"Dammit! The cursed man won't answer!" swore a voice. Stella and I's eyes landed on the stage on the right. There, a man with super-pale skin interspersed with scales had a girl around my age in a choke hold. And a woman decked in all blue (blue hair, blue dress, blue heels, blue everything!) was pacing around the stage with a high-tech phone pressed against her ear. "What does it take to collect a ransom these days?"

So that was their game. Looked like it was time to get into action. We didn't have much of a choice, did we?

"Stop right there!" I yelled, not thinking things through. All three of them startled at my voice.

"Please, help me!" managed the teenage girl, trying to push away from the snake guy restraining her.

"Who are they?" asked Snake Guy in a super unmotivated tone. The two snakes coiled around his neck hissed in response.

For some odd reason, I felt like I needed to pull a Sailor Moon. "We are the Fairy Guardians of Justice and Love!" I declared, "and in the name of the people you killed and magic itself, we'll punish you." And with that, I struck a famous (in my world) Sailor-Moon pose. I immediately cringed at my cheesy-sounding self.

"Seriously?" Not even Stella looked impressed.

"We don't have time for this," hissed the woman (whom I was going to call Blue). She zapped the barstools with a blue bolt of magic and thrust her hand forward, hurling them at us.

"Incoming!" I yelled. I hadn't exactly been prepared to leap into action so quickly. Thankfully, Stella and I jumped out of the way just in time. The stools all crashed into the walls and a few even landed on the corpses.

"How dare you try to hurt me! Do you know who I am?" An angry Stella was back to her feet in seconds. The spoiled princess stomped her foot. I'm the crowned princess of Solaria!"

Blue smiled. "That makes things even better. Now I'll be able to collect _two_ ransoms! I can imagine King Radius would pay a high price for his precious daughter."

"Run! You have to run!" Go get help!" the hostage managed to yell.

Seconds later, Blue threw a water ball at me. "Oh shit!" I yelped as it exploded in my face, causing me to stagger backwards. "That freakin' hurt! You'll pay for that!" I shouted as my face and nose stung and burned from the water.

"Eh, better you than me," insisted Stella with a shrug.

"Why you…"

"Viper, take the hostage someplace safe. It'll be easy to defeat these two, so you're assistance is not needed," commanded Blue, stepping off the stage. "When we meet later, I'll have ourselves two more hostages. The one with the black hair might not be worth much, but it's still something."

…

"She's got a point. A regular civilian like you wouldn't even be a fraction of what I'm worth." Stella struck a pose and winked at my tauntingly. "Jealous?"

"You wish. And why the hell are you insulting me? Aren't we on the same side?" I snapped at her.

"Well, I'm just stating the facts-" Stella was cut off as a water ball hit her in the face.

"Ha! Who's laughing now?" I snorted.

Now dripping water, Stella looked down at her outfit. "My clothes!" she cried out, "it's ruined!" She glared death at Blue. "You're gonna pay for this!"

Blue grinned evilly. "Like my little attack?" She held out a hand and a orb of pure water formed a few centimeters above her palm. "It's called Aqua Assault, and is my special attack. These little devils act like a bomb and explode whenever they make contact with anything. Their wrath is magnified when touching human skin."

Apparently, Stella didn't share my worry. "So you throw water balloons. Big deal." She yawned. "That doesn't change the fact we're going to take you out."

" _We're_? So we're partners again?" I asked sarcastically. "Won't you be embarrassed to be seen with a 'regular civilian' like me?"

"Don't worry. It's only temporarily," assured Stella, "I'll be able to endure it. And besides, the faster we handle this, the faster I can finish shopping."

"That makes more sense."

"Enough! You're wasting my time!" yelled Blue, throwing more Aqua Assaults at Stella.

"I don't think so!" Stella jumped into the air and a magical aura concealed her body.

"It's so bright!" I exclaimed, shielding my eyes from her glow. Was she…? I looked at her again as her glow slowly disappeared, revealing a pigtailed Stella with a pair of small flittering wings. She did! She transformed into her fairy form!

"Not it's on!" she declared. She held up her hand and a yellow spell formed around it. "Take this!" she yelled, throwing it at Blue.

"Aqua Defense!" Blue activated a shield of rippling water in front of her. "Ha! You're weak!" insulted Blue as her shield deflected the spell. Prepare to feel my wet wrath!"

Okay, that did _not_ sound right.

"Alright! It's time to unleash my true power: the power of the wind!" I declared, feeling like Sailor Moon again. Now, how would I do this? I didn't exactly know how to control my power yet-

The next thing I knew, I found myself struggling for air when a tentacle-like water arm curled around my neck. "What…the?" I choked. Blue's arms were now replaced with long arms made of water.

"Ha! Never let your guard down around me!" she laughed wickedly.

"The same goes for me, too!" Stella suddenly came down from the air, using her scepter to slice the arm in half. And since the half choking me had been severed from its host, it returned to its natural formless state, soaking my sneakers.

"Thanks," I wheezed as Stella landed beside me with her weapon in hand. "I-"

"You owe me one, I know, I know. Let's just get this over with so I don't miss the sale going on at the shoe store."

Blue, who was now left with a half and a whole water arm, hissed. "You'll pay for that!" she shouted, attempting to whip Stella with her intact arm. While the two of them fought, I took shelter behind the bar. I had to somehow figure out how to use my wind powers to help Stella. But how? I didn't know any spells!

I dared to peak over the counter to see Stella had successfully destroyed Blue's tentacle arms. However, Blue wasn't defeated just yet. "Aqua Sting!" she shouted, throwing a blue spell at Stella. Wait. The spell didn't look like water like her other attacks. Could it be that sorcerers of an element had both magic of that element _and_ manipulation over it?

In that case, I didn't need magic now. I could just try to control the air around me. But how was I supposed to do that? What good would it do anyway? Air wasn't dangerous.

That was when I noticed the glass shelves of liquor and alcohol behind me, giving me an idea. Maybe I could use a current of air to…That could work! I just had to-

Stella was suddenly throw into the shelves, causing broken glass to rain down on me and bottles to fall and shatter all on the floor. "You could help you know!" said Stella through gritted teeth as she picked herself off the ground, brushing the glass off her orange outfit. Scrapes and bruises were all over her body, most likely results of the battle and all that glass cutting her skin. "Why haven't you transformed already?"

Seeing her so injured made me feel like a failure. "Uh…I'm working on it?" I looked down at my feet, which were soaked from the puddles of liquor leaking out of their broken bottles. And speaking of liquor-

"It smells like a bar in here!" whined-complained Stella, covering her nose and cringing at the smell of combined alcohol/liquor.

"Um, have you forgotten we're _in_ one?!"

"Enough chatter!" Blue began throwing more Aqua Defenses at us and because there were so many, Stella and I were forced to take them. The impact of all her spells exploding on us forced us onto the wall of broken shelves.

"I can't move!" I screamed as force of all the exploding attacks kept us pressed against the wall. It felt like I was getting hit with water balloons, except ten times worse.

"Ha! So this is the might of a fairy?" taunted Blue, finally letting up. The second she stopped chucking attacks at us, Stella and I's limp bodies dropped to the floor in the puddles of liquor and beer, crushing glass beneath us. I winced as a sharp shard pierced me in the stomach. This was seriously not fun. Winx Club wasn't supposed to be like this! Bad guys weren't supposed to kill, and the good guys weren't supposed to get bruised like this!

"It'll be easy finishing you both off. I think I'll start with the worthless girl first," announced Blue. Next thing I knew, I was suddenly levitating off the ground. "Wh-what?" I whispered weakly and confusedly. "Why do I have to be the worthless on-" I was cut off as a sphere of water formed around me.

"The average person can't hold their breath in water for more than two minutes," giggled Blue's evil, muffled voice on the other side of the water bubble thingy. "Three, if you're one of those lucky ones. "Let's see how long you last."

Damn! She was trying to drown me! What was I supposed to do?! "And when you die, I'll escape with my new prize and collect a handsome ransom from both the senator's and King Radius's daughters," boasted Blue, obviously proud of her evil achievements. With a dramatic flip of her stupidly blue hair, Blue started towards Stella, swinging her arms back and forth and butt side to side like she was sexy or something.

"Stella!" I shouted, "get the fuck up!" But instead, it sounded like _glubb, glubb, glubb._

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! This wasn't good, this wasn't good! I watched helplessly as Stella tried to get up, but was immediately kicked back down by Blue. The stupid-ass witch picked up the specter that Stella had dropped and held it up as if observing it. She was probably trying to determine how much the thing was worth.

I started to inwardly panic as my lungs began to burn. I was running out of time! But what the hell could I do? Blue said something I couldn't make out (the stupid water in the bubble was gurgling all around me, drowning out any distant outside noises) and stomped her foot onto Stella's back.

I saw Stella scream out in pain. She was helpless. A goner. And I couldn't do anything about it. I tried punching the walls of my watery, floating prison but they were as hard as stone (which I didn't find remotely possible).

Seriously, curse Blue all the way to hell. Curse her mother too for having unprotected sex and conceiving such a demon spawn.

Blue gave me an evil glance and levitated Stella off the ground with a glittery blue spell. She said something to me and even though I couldn't make it out, I swore she said: "So long, motherfucker!"

Oh, she was so _fucked_!

With her spell carrying Stella behind her, the witch sexy walked (seriously, woman! You're not attractive!) towards the exit.

Oh _hell_ no! She was _not_ going to get away with Stella!

Suddenly, newfound energy began to surge through my body and a familiar sensation washed over me. It made me feel the same way I felt whenever I let the wind flow through my hair: free.

That same second, the watery walls around me started to crack and it felt like wind was oozing through them into my prison. It flowed into my lungs and danced between my fingers, making me feel stronger than ever.

Thankfully, the water sphere burst all around me like glass and the wind embraced me. "You're not going anywhere!" I shouted at Blue right as she was reaching out for the door handle.

The witch whirled around, shocked to see me free, alive, and breathing. "Well, well, well. I was wondering if you'd be worth fighting." Blue clenched her fists, took a few steps forward, and smiled evilly at me. A levitating, unconscious Stella remained where she was at the exit. "At first, I didn't think you were a fairy. And I have to say I'm proud to say I was wrong. I'm thirsty for a good fight."

 _Fairy?_

I looked down to see that my feet were hovering above the ground and my Converse had been replaced with ankle boots that were such a faint blue color they almost looked white. I now donned a body suit of the same color that was similar to Tecna's in her Magic Winx form, except mine was sleeveless with an illusion neckline and long gloves to match. I raised a hand to feel the small tiara perched on my head and looked over my shoulder to see a small pair of glittery, flittering, ultrathin wings with whispery white-blue tips.

"I did it! I transformed!" I triumphed.

"Celebrate while you can; soon, your life will be over before you know it," assured Blue, jumping into a defense stance.

"Bring it on like Donkey Kong!" I noticed the dead bodies scattered all over the place. "You killed innocent people and you're going to pay for it!" Without knowing what the hell I was doing, I outstretched my hand and a sparkly silver spell emerged from them almost immediately.

Unfortunately, the spell disintegrated for some reason without even hitting Blue. "That was a weak spell! This won't be long!" And with that, she charged at me with wolf speed.

 _Oh shit!_ Like they had a mind of their own, my wings steered me out of her way. "Take this, ass sucker!" I laughed as I flew all over the place, somehow throwing spells at Blue. So this was how magic worked? All you had to do was think about casting a spell, and you could just…do it?

Well, you could do anything you put your mind to, after all! See what I did there? Ah, I'm smart.

"You're wild and weak! That's not how you cast spells at all! Aqua Defense!"

I dodged the attack, but accidentally flew backwards into a wall. "I meant to do that!" I declared, standing up from the floor. I squeaked, quickly dodging a barstool projectile.

"I've had it! It's time you suffer the defeat you deserve!" Blue began to charge up a giant attack over her head.

"I don't think so!" A blast hit Blue from behind, causing her to stagger forward. Stella was standing behind her, her hand still outstretched from emitting the spell.

"Stella! You're okay!" I cried out happily. She was still bruised, but it was obvious her wounds weren't keeping her down like a true fairy.

Stella smiled and flipped one of her pigtails. "Of course I am! What did you expect?"

"Ugh, I've had it with you fairies!" Blue suddenly took to the air. "I don't have time for this! The plan _must_ commence!" And with that, she flew overhead and straight through the glass exit.

"C'mon! We can't let her get away." Restoring her specter back to its ring form, Stella's fluttering wings carried her in Blue's direction.

"Hey, wait up!" I called, managing to get my wings to flap. Unfortunately, they stopped for some reason and landed butt-first on the ground. Alright, that wasn't going to work out. So instead of trying my luck again, I simply ran after Stella, wondering what shit we were about to get ourselves into.


	3. Ethereal Magic

Blackness.

Blackness, blackness everywhere.

And what was with this hangover? Did I get into my mom's liquor refrigerator again? Seriously, it felt like someone with Hulk strength was whamming my noggin with a sledgehammer. West, my second-oldest brother, probably found me passed out somewhere and put me in bed. Damn, I hope Mom didn't find out yet. But just in case, I was already preparing myself for her famous "you shouldn't be drinking" lecture.

"Can you hear me? Hello?! Can you hear me?"

That didn't sound like my mom. And now that I thought about it, I didn't feel my plush One Direction comforter (another lame-ass gift from my aunt) under my body either. Was I even in my room?

Then it hit me like a wrecking ball (cultural reference intended).

I wasn't passed out in my room! And I hadn't gotten into my mom's alcohol. Come to think of it, I wasn't at my house or even in my universe!

"Please, if you can hear me, say something! Please!"

Just then, I felt someone take my shoulders. Next thing I knew, they were shaking me. I wanted to slap the fuck out of them, but I couldn't wake up.

What the fudge was happening here?

" _Acadia, Fairy of the Wind."_

Three white silhouettes with wings appeared in the distance. I didn't try running to them just in case this was one of those fucked-up dreams when the dreamer couldn't move or speak.

" _Destiny has chosen you to wield the powers of the air and wind. With these, you'll be able to rewrite history and discover your destiny in Magix."_

Right before my eyes, the silhouettes glowed with pure energy and filled in to reveal the Ethereal Fairies. Though they looked odd with their cone-shaped hair and heads, I wasn't afraid. I gasped. Were they the ones who brought me to Magix and gave me my powers?

" _In order to complete your mission, you'll need guidance and wisdom in order to control your powers,"_ said the blue Ethereal Fairy. _"Come forth."_

My body began to automatically float over to them. Without being able to speak, I bowed my head. The blue Ethereal Fairy put two fingers on both of my temples, and my whole body hummed.

" _You are a new fairy and have a lot to learn. But for now, take this as a gift from us. You'll need it as your adventure progresses."_

And just like that, all three of them began to fade away.

"Please, please, _please_ wake up!"

My eyes suddenly popped open to see a pale girl with strawberry-blond hair hovering over me. "Who are you?" I demanded as my vision slowly unblurred. I immediately recognized her as the hostage girl Blue and her partner had captured.

Wait. _What_?

I instantly sat up and looked around. The two of us were in some kind of old, dusty, moldy, abandoned warehouse. Though I didn't know how we got here, I knew it was probably because I fucked up somewhere along the line.

"Where's Stella?" I asked, my voice echoing all around me.

The girl shrugged. "I dunno—I've been here for a while now. The snake man threw you in here around n hour ago. You were unconscious up until now."

Shit. Blue probably knocked me out and got her partner to capture me while she continued to fight Stella. Yeah, that's right. I used common sense and pieced it together. Sort of. "Well, we gotta get out of here. I have work in the morning, and I don't feel like hearing _Veraminta_ cuss me out," I grumbled, rising to my feet. Surprisingly, I was still in my fairy form.

"I don't know what you have planned, but please me careful! That man—the one with the snakes—he's lurking somewhere around here. There's no way he would just leave us alone." Strawberry sighed. "They won't let us go until our parents pay the ransom. And if the authorities get involved…"

They would kill us. I've watched enough cop shows and local news to know that. "I'm not afraid of some snake-ish circus freak," I assured Strawberry, starting for the large exit. "We're getting out of here no matter whose ass we need to kick." I stopped in the center of the room. "Who are you anyways?" I asked, eyeing her.

"I'm Faye but you can call me Strawberry like the rest of my friends." Strawberry fiddled with the ribbon around her waist nervously. "I was out walking when those fiends attacked me. Somehow, they knew I didn't have magic and that I'm the senator's daughter."

What? Being magic-less in this universe was possible? "Well, I'm getting us out of here," I declared, walking over to the rusty door. I grabbed the iron handle and pulled on them with all my might. Unfortunately, the door didn't budge. Dang it. I should've known it'd be locked considering we were hostages and all. Well, it was time to use some magic.

I took a few steps back, put my hands together, and pointed them at the doors. "Wondrous Wind!" I shouted as I emitted a whispery blue spell at the doors. I startled as the spell blew the doors out of their frame and chucked them across the room. I did _that?_ But how? I didn't know any spells? I then remembered what the Ethereal Fairies told me.

" _ **You are a new fairy and have a lot to learn. But for now, take this as a gift from us. You'll need it as your adventure progresses."**_

They were behind this; they must've given me a little bit of knowledge. And now since I was a little bit smarter and stronger, I could help Stella and save Strawberry. "Let's go!" I said to Strawberry lowly, stepping into the dank hall.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" fidgeted Strawberry quietly as I lead her through the window hall. "What if we run into that snake guy?"

"We won't," I promised, stopping. "Because we're not going to escape through the front door." I pointed up at the frosted skylight above. So far, it was the only window I'd seen. I put my hands in the same position I did last time and pointed them up at the skylight. "Wondrous Wind!" I expected the spell to do the same thing it had done to the doors but instead of shattering the glass, the skylight somehow deflected the spell back down at me.

"Oof!" I squeaked as my own spell knocked me down to the floor. Fairy forms must've given super endurability because any regular person would've been out knocked out cold from such an impact.

"They must've put a reflection spell on the skylight," frowned Strawberry, helping me up. "It'll be impossible to break unless your magic is stronger than theirs."

"Don't worry. I'll just find another way," I said like it was no big deal, continuing down the hall.

"But every other exit's probably just like the skylight," pointed out Strawberry, catching up with me. "Our only chance will probably be to fight or surrender. Surrendering-"

 _Hisssss._

"Shut up," I snapped, freezing in my tracks.

"Hey! I'm just trying to-"

"Shh!" I hissed.

 _Hissssss._

"Do you hear that?" I whispered.

 _Hisssssss._

Strawberry turned the color of her name. "It sounds like a snake," she managed, suddenly trembling with fear. "I hate snakes."

Who didn't? "Stay here," I ordered, slowly tiptoeing forward. When I reached the end of the hall, I slowly peaked around the corner. My eyes bulged out of my head the second I laid eyes on the dozens of snakes piling up on each other in the other corridor.

 _Shit._ Because I knew snakes could feel vibrations, I flew back over to Strawberry with my new flittering pair of wings. "We gotta go," I hissed, taking her hand.

"Why? What is it?" Fear was written all over the senator's daughter's face.

"Just c'mon unless you wanna be snake food!" I yanked her forward as we backtracked.

"I knew it! The snake guy infested this place with his snakes so we can't escape!" panicked Strawberry in a sharp, hurried whisper. "And they're all no doubt poisonous! What are we supposed to do now? It's not like we can –HOLY-"

I cupped my hand over her mouth and bit my lip to prevent myself from screaming. At the end of the hall, a GIANT-ass snake was slithering by. Its green middle section was flowing through the other corridor like water, most likely searching for its prey.

Strawberry and I waited until we saw the rest of its body pass to act. "We're gonna die!" sobbed Strawberry lightly, burying her face in her hands. "We can't get past that thing."

 _Fuck._ "In here," I ordered, opening a convenient metal door to our right. The door lead into a room completely identical to the one I'd woke up in. "Alright, so we need to change the plan," I announced, silently closing the door behind us. I pressed myself against it just in case something or someone tried to open it from the other side.

Strawberry sat down against a wall and started to weep. "I'll never get to see my dad or brothers again," she sobbed quietly.

There had to be another way. I looked up at the ceiling. More skylights were installed and were probably enchanted with the same reflection spell as the other one. While Strawberry sobbed, I flew up to the skylights and tried punching them with my fists. Much to my relief, I managed to put a crack in one of them. "Strawberry! I think we can get out of here!" I exclaimed, punching the glass again.

Strawberry looked up with tear-stained cheeks. "R-really?"

"Yeah! All it should take it another-"

I was cut off as something suddenly flew through the ceiling, causing the whole building to shake. "You can't escape me," said a voice as Strawberry and I choked from all the dust polluting the air.

When it all cleared, I gasped to see Snake Guy standing atop a pile of rubble. All he wore was a pair of shorts, revealing his scaly, pale chest. Two snakes were coiled around his heck, hissing at us.

"We're screwed," I muttered as Strawberry jumped behind me.

"Miss told me not to let you escape," said Snake Guy unmotivatedly, slowly lifting a finger to pint at us.

"Come over here and fight me!" I yelled at him, shaking a fist. "I'm not afraid of snakes!" That was a lie in its purest state. Thankfully, snakes couldn't sense fear. I think.

"Poison's Sting." Apparently, Snake Guy took me literally because he chucked a smoky green spell at me.

Oh shit! Panicking, I fanned the air and gusts of air blew the foggy spell away. "Ha! Missed me, jackass!" I taunted though I knew I shouldn't. "Now it's my turn!" I kicked in his direction and an air formation fired off my foot at Snake Guy.

"Poisonous Protection." Snake Guy crossed his arms in front of his face and a shield appeared in front of him, protecting him from my air.

This guy obviously had poison magic. "I won't let you get away with the senator's daughter!" I yelled at him, "such injustice won't be tolerated! Wondrous Wield!" I threw the spell at him multiple times, all in different directions to throw him off.

"You're inexperienced," observed Snake Guy dully, "Miss was right about you." Unlike Blue, he didn't sound arrogant. In fact, his voice was toneless. Almost like he was some kind of drone. "It'll be easy winning against you. Intoxicating Aura." He held out his hands and his body began to produce green gasses. It didn't take a genius to know they were poisonous.

"Quick! Protect your nose!" squeaked Strawberry, using both hands to cover her nose.

I had one even better. Using both hands, I reached for the sky. "Protection of the Winds!" On my command, a sphere of air encircled me and Strawberry as the floating green masses drifted around the room. My guess was the sphere trapped the good air inside it along with us, thus the reason we weren't suffocating from Snake Guy's gas.

I snapped my fingers and the air sphere exploded. The air that was used to make the sphere cleansed the rest of the air as it returned to the atmosphere, terminating Snake Guy's poison. "You're no match against my powers of the wind!" I declared, pointing at Snake Guy. "Prepare to be blown away by the gusts of justice!" I felt like striking a Sailor Moon pose but resisted.

Snake Guy hissed and suddenly changed at us with snake speed. OH SHIT! Just as I was pushing Strawberry out of the way, Snake Guy began to punch me all over. WHAT THE FUCK?! I didn't know magical villains used physical combat in battles! That wasn't fair!

"Back off!" I yelled as a wind suddenly picked me up, separating me from him.

"You okay?" asked Strawberry, hurrying back over to my side.

"Yeah," I spat as the wind lightly set me on the ground. "He just caught me off guard." With that, I spat a mouthful of blood on the floor. I was totally loosing this thing. How was I even supposed to win? This motherfucker was too damn fast! I didn't think I had an attack strong enough to-

" _You have been given a small fragment of Ethereal Magic. Use it to vanquish your enemies_ _ **ONLY**_ _in the most desperate of times_ ," all of the Ethereal Fairies' voices suddenly rang in my head. _"It is our gift to you. Use it wisely."_

Suddenly, a power I'd never felt before began to course through my veins. It was so refreshing, it sent electric currents down my spine. "What's happening to you?" asked Strawberry in alarm as my body started to glow with blue magic.

So this was the power of the Ethereal Fairies. It felt so warm. So loving and gentle, yet so powerful.

And it was at that moment, I knew what I had to do. I raised my hands up over my head like I was Goku readying to make a Spirit Bomb. "O power of the Ethereal Fairies! Grant me your wisdom and power!" I shouted as hard, harsh winds began to rage around the room. I was suddenly picked up in a spout of air, bringing me high above Snake Guy and Strawberry. The rubble and remains of the broken ceiling were then picked up in my wind currents.

"Calm down!" pleaded Strawberry, who was struggling to stay on the ground as my winds grew out of control. Snake Guy attempted to attack, but my strong currents prevented him from even moving.

A giant whispery-blue spell started to form a few centimeters above my positioned palms. And for a second, I lost feeling in my entire body but at the same time felt in control. "In the name of Destiny and Prophecy, I'll erase your evils from this world!" I shouted. Though I could hear my voice, I also spoke with the voices of the Three Ethereal Fairies like their spirits were within my body alongside my own.

"Winds of Time and Space!" I/the Ethereal Fairies shouted, throwing my/our GIANT blue spell at Snake Guy. Even with his life in stake, Snake Guy appeared emotionless as the spell hit him dead-on. I remained where I was on top of the air spout as I watched Snake Guy's body disintegrate inside the spell. The spell didn't stop there. After finishing Snake Guy, it sailed through the wall and moonlight from outside flooded into the warehouse through the hole.

After seeing the enemy was destroyed, my winds died down by themselves and my spout disappeared from under my feet. "You did it! You actually destroyed him!" cried out Strawberry with effortlessly landed on the ground. She gave me a tiny hug. "How did you get so powerful all of a sudden?" she asked, glowing. "And your appearance! It changed!"

"Huh?" I looked over my shoulder at my wings, which were now bigger and the same shape and design as the Ethereal Fairies'. I then looked down at my outfit to see I was wearing a long flowing cape to go along with my fairy-form outfit."Oh cool." I didn't have time to admire my new wings. Instead, I needed to go ahead and use them while they were still there. "C'mon! Let's go find Stella!" I remembered, taking Strawberry's wrist.

I levitated off the ground readying to fly, but Strawberry stopped me. "I don't have magic, remember? I can't fly," she reminded, sounding somewhat disappointed.

I smiled. "Don't worry about it. I got this." At my gentle touch, sparkles passed through my fingers and into her wrist.

"Wh-what's happening?" she asked, awestruck as the sparkles created an aura around her body. The girl then slowly levitated off the ground to my level. "How…am I flying?"

"It's Ethereal Magic," I explained, "now c'mon. Stella could be in danger."

And with that, the air embraced us and carried us off into the starry night sky.

* * *

"There she is!" exclaimed Strawberry, pointing downwards at a rooftop. The two of us were flying above Magix City in the moonlight in search of Stella. Thanks to the Ethereal Magic I passed on to her, she was able to fly alongside me. And since my new wings were just like the Ethereal Fairies', they were giving me increased speed.

I looked down in the direction she was pointing. Though high in the sky, I could make out an orange and blue blur atop one of the buildings. That was them no doubt. "I see them." The two of us stopped in midair. "The magic I gave you won't last long, so I need you to go to the authorities," I told her, "I'll handle Blue."

Strawberry nodded. "I know where the station is. I won't be long," she promised. And with blue glitter trailing behind her, she took off in the opposite direction.

I didn't waste time either. Setting my sights of a battling Blue and Stella, I used my new wings to zoom downward in their direction. "Stella! Are you okay?" I asked, landing beside her.

"Huh? Acadia, is that you?" Stella looked me up and down. She was gripping her specter with bloody hands, a sign that battle had gotten intense. "Your wings! You-"

"It won't last long," I said knowingly, "let's just take out Blue."

"Ha! There's no way you two can defeat me! I am the all-powerful wielder of the waters! No witch, fairy, or wizard with the power of water can compare to me!" boasted Blue, "and I'll prove it." She then started to muster blue energy in her palms.

"Stella, this is going to be her most powerful attack," I said calmly, "we'll need to merge our magics."

"Convergence?" Stella raised an eyebrow. "We learned about that at Alfea but-"

But she didn't know how to use it because she didn't pay attention in class last year, thus the reason she got held back. "Don't worry. I know what we need to do," I told her as Blue continued to create her attack. It was like the Ethereal Fairies' knowledge was flowing through me. "Can I?" I asked, reaching out for her scepter.

Stella handed it over to me, no objections. "Fine, but just don't break it. That's an heirloom of the royal family, ya know," she boasted.

Whatever.

Holding the scepter, I got down on a knee and started to chant. "O power of the Ethereal Fairies! Give me your power! Merge the powers of the sun, moon, and winds to vanquish all evil and restore balance to Magix!" So much magic was flowing within the scepter, it made my fingers tingle. "Stella, on my mark!"

"What are you doing? That isn't going to work on me!" yelled Blue, throwing her attack at us.

Just as that was happening, Stella took hold of the scepter. I could feel some of my magic and knowledge flowing into her. Together, we raised it high. "Wondrous Winds of the Shining Sun and Majestic Moon!" we yelled together. Immediately, a pure white spell shot out of the top of the scepter, flying straight through Blue's attack at her.

"NOO!" she yelled at the top of her lungs like a witch, shielding her face. Unfortunately for her, that wasn't enough. She disappeared inside the large wide beam, her body crumbling into nothingness within it.

"Ha! Your fashion choices were so last year anyway," taunted Stella at the spot Blue once stood.

I looked up at the moon, the wind blowing through my hair. The three Ethereal Fairies appeared inside it, smiling at me. I smiled back, knowing I wielded my gift of destiny well.

* * *

"I'm so grateful; you fairies saved my life," enthused Strawberry, taking my hands and smiling controllably. The three of us were standing in the illuminated street in front of the warehouse Snake Guy had been using as a hideout. Oddly, all the snakes had disappeared (most likely a result of their master being destroyed). The authorities were already on the scene both at the warehouse and bar to investigate. "How can I ever repay you?"

Stella looked at her orange nails. "I'm already a princess, so there's really nothing that I don't already have," she boasted.

Shut the hell up, Stella. Luckily, Strawberry wasn't paying attention to her anyway. "Well, there is one thing but I think it's too much trouble," I fidgeted, a little nervous to ask my question.

Strawberry smiled. "I'm the senator's daughter, remember?" she teased, "besides, I owe you my life."

I allowed myself to smile. "You see, there's this magic school I've been inching to get into…"


	4. Winx!

**Author's Note: Truth or Dare chapter is next.**

* * *

My legs were trembling.

I was literally shaking like Jell-O.

All around me, girls with suitcases and luggage were passing through the barrier into school grounds, chatting bubbly amongst one another about their fantastic or shitty summer. And I just stood there, completely frozen. Not because Perverted Guy was watching all of us girls from the forest, but because I was at ALFEA. _The_ college for fairies! And I was a student thanks to Strawberry.

The minute I would decide to pass through the barrier onto campus, my life would change forever. No more "lazy slacker" scolds from _Veraminta._ No more hauling Stella's fashion haul (hopefully). No more conversing with shitty-ass customers. No more-

"You! Young lady! What is your name?" a voice called out to me.

I shook out of my daze to see Griselda staring at me with those beady little eyes of hers. "Uh…Acadia Jones from Magix," I spoke up, approaching the unattractive (I'm sorry Griselda, but you're just not that cute) older lady at the gate.

She checked over her list, adjusting her glasses every time she glanced me up and down. "Yes, yes. Acadia from Magix. You're on the list," she said in the most unenthusiastic tone my ears were ever cursed to hear. "You may enter. Next!"

"Th-thank you," I stammered, biting my lip. With shaking legs, I slowly proceeded past her into the central courtyard. Girls my age were all over, gossiping about the hook ups and social events that occurred over the break. Gripping the handle of my suitcase, I scanned the crowd for any familiar faces.

Much to my dismay, I saw those girls who called me a slut at that restaurant, but I paid them no attention. Bingo! My eyes landed on Stella not far from the entrance gate. Feeling hopeful, I hurried over. "Stella!" I called out happily, approaching her. As I got closer, I noticed she was with a girl with carrot-red locks. BLOOM!

"Oh. Well, if it isn't Acadia Jones," announced Stella as I joined her and Bloom. "Long time no see."

Seriously? "I saw you every day at the mall I work at," I reminded her in a dull tone. I turned my attention to Bloom. "And who is this?" I asked, hiding my glee.

"This is Princess Varanda of Callisto," replied Stella effortlessly, thinking I didn't know she was lying.

"Um…hi." Bloom waved at me shyly. Seeing her so timid and nervous made me wonder if she was actually the Bloom I saw in the cartoon. Kiko, her famous pet rabbit, chirped (or whatever noise that was) at me from his owner's arms.

"So you're a princess, huh?" I smiled, going along with the little lie. "Hopefully, you aren't anything like Stella here."

"Hey!"

"Uh…no. Hardly," was the best Bloom could come up with.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Stella was offended for some reason. She put her hands on her hips and huffed, holding her chin high. "If you must know-"

"Alright, ladies! Everyone gather around," announced Griselda's voice, interrupting the no-doubt sassy remark Stella was about to drop on us. The three of us and the rest of the Alfea students obeyed, forming a large cluster before the head of discipline.

"As fairies attending this school, you all should know Alfea will be your home for the next five years," announced Griselda, beginning to pace back and forth like she was a drill sergeant giving orders. "But this home can cease to be yours if you dare break the rules. You must follow all the rules in the code of behavior. Break the rules once and you'll be turned into a frog. Break the rules again and your magic will be suspended. A third time and I will personally escort you to the front gate." She pointed at the main entrance with the fiery eyes. "This is not a magician's school and you certainly aren't here to learn 'hocus pocus'. Consequently, you may not use any of your powers in the halls or other common areas unless instructed by a teacher. In order to prevent chaos, you are only allowed to cast spells and use magic in the classrooms under a professor's supervision…"

Behind me, Stella, and Bloom, a few girls giggled. "Look at the Grizzly's outfit. No way she'll attract anyone looking like that," said a voice I recognized to be Candi's. While Griselda was scolding Stella about breaking that classroom window last term, I held back a snicker. "The Grizzly" was a good nickname for Griselda. Hehehhe…

"Good morning, ladies. Pardon my tardiness," announced a voice. We all looked to see Headmistress Faragonda approaching us with the rest of the school's faculty.

"Everyone, here comes your headmistress. Attention!" ordered Griselda. At the sound of her commanding voice, we all straightened up.

Ms. Faragonda simply laughed as she appeared beside Griselda. "There's really no need to be so stodgy." And then to us, she said: "I hope Griselda hasn't scared you too much." Candi and her friends snickered. Faragonda gestured towards the giant pink-and-blue castle behind her. "Welcome to Alfea, the best fairy school in all of Magix. Mind you, it's also the only one." Chuckling at her own joke, she crossed her arms behind her back and started for the large staircase leading up to the castle's grand entrance. "Come in, ladies."

"Whoa. This place is so huge," I breathed as we started up the stairs after the headmistress. Bubbling with anticipation, we passed through the large doors into the wide, beautiful entrance hall.

"Now we'll start our orientation session," announced Faragonda, "by the end of which we should all know one another much better." The elder lady stood before the wide, long staircase. "Becoming a fairy is hard work, but I know each and every one of you will be able to do it." She put on a serious face. "Keep in mind that you can always ask me or the teachers for help." She clapped her hands together. "Okay, enough with the boring stuff! You are all now free to explore Alfea, but I must warn you: there are dangers about and you need to be careful."

Stella giggled and put a finger on her temple. "Stay away from the witches of Cloud Tower," she mimicked, shaking her head side to side in a silly matter. "Watch: that's what she's going to say next."

"Stay away from the witches of Cloud Tower," said Ms. Faragonda seriously, adjusting her glasses and looking at us with honest eyes.

"Alright, the speech is over," announced Ms. Griselda, clapping her hands as if saying "chop chop". "You're all dismissed until dinner." The crowds began to disband within seconds.

"Good luck everybody. I'll see you all tomorrow. And remember, classes start at 8Am sharp," called out Ms. Faragonda from behind as Stella directed me and "Varanda" towards the dorm.

"You guys'll like the headmistress," assured Stella as we traveled down a crowded hall, "she's always repeating herself, but she's super nice."

"Who are…?"

I answered before Bloom could even ask the question. "The witches Ms. Faragonda was talking about are from Cloud Tower, a magic school like us except for girls with the dark arts," I informed her, feeling proud that I got to explain things to the Fairy of the Dragon Fire (though she didn't know it yet). "There are two other schools in Magix. Alfea and Red Fountain where the squad boys go."

"Whoa," breathed Bloom, "witches." She said it like it was a new word she'd just learned.

"Yeah, it's best we stand clear of them," advised Stella, making that the first smart thing I'd ever heard her say.

We stopped at a pair of doors that had a parchment pasted beside it, reading: _Varanda, Stella, Musa, Flora,_ and _Tecna_ in swirly gold cursive. "Well, it looks like I'm not rooming with you," I said, though I'd known that from the beginning.

"Why don't you find your apartment and then come back?" suggested Stella, opening the door. "You can help me sort through all my luggage. Remember how I said it'd need a bunch of outfits for the new school year?"

I wanted to tell her that I wasn't her personal shopper anymore, but didn't feel like explaining it. "I'll see you two later, alright?" I told her quickly, starting back down the hall. I kept walking through the endless halls until I found the ones that belonged to my apartment.

I opened the pair of green doors to see the layout of the apartment was just like the Winx's. On the doors to the right was a scroll that said: _Acadia_ and _Amaryl_. Sweet! So I was rooming with her. I knew her from the original Winx Club, but wasn't that familiar.

"Uh…hello? Amaryl?" I called, slowly opening our creaking door. I entered to see the room was divided into two halves. The half to the right was cluttered with stuff, meaning Amaryl had already been here and claimed that side for herself. But by the looks of things, she wasn't around at the moment. That was good for me, because I didn't have time to lose.

Once again feeling excited, I crossed over onto my half and threw my luggage into the closet. I would unpack later. As for now, I needed to hurry and meet up with Stella and Bloom before they and the other Winx went out for pizza.

Feeling like I was floating on air, I backtracked all the way through the corridors back to the Winx's apartment. "Hey guys! I'm back!" I announced happily, walking in. Seeing Flora, Tecna, and Musa nearly startled me.

"Hello." Musa, who had her bag slung over her shoulder, waved at me friendlily.

"Everyone, this is Acadia," introduced Stella, flipping her hair over her shoulder and pointing at me. "Acadia, this is-"

"Flora, Tecna, and Musa," I accidentally blurted. The other girls stared at me questioningly. Thankfully, I had an excuse. "Uh…it said it on the door outside," I explained quickly. I didn't want them thinking I was some creepy stalker or something.

"Well, since we're all together now, I suggest we go out for dinner tonight," suggested Stella just as planned, putting a hand on her hip. "Besides, the food here isn't so grand." Seeing the disbelief on our faces, she sighed. "You'll see once you force down a spoonful or two of Griselda's famous pasta."

"I think eating out is a wonderful idea," smiled Flora, "it'll give us all a chance to get to know each other." While everyone seconded their agreements, I looked each girl up and down. I thought I knew them all pretty well from the cartoons, but I apparently was wrong. Musa was about a head taller than the rest of us, Tecna was the shortest, Stella was the skinniest, and Flora…Damn, her jugs were huge. And her body was really on the curvy side. Out of the six of us, she would definitely be considered "the hottest".

"How about we have pizza?" suggested Bloom, distracting me from my observations.

"What's that?" asked Flora, turning to glance at Bloom.

"Yeah, what is it?" Tecna raised an eyebrow.

Bloom smiled and played with her fingers nervously. "Uh…the national dish of Callisto."

"'Pizza' is a weird name, but I say we should go for it!" Musa let her bag slip down her arm and onto the floor. "Let's head out before we miss the bus."

"The bus?" repeated Bloom as we proceeded out of the apartment.

"Yeah. It makes daily stops here," yawned Stella, observing her nails again.

"You seem surprised. Aren't there buses in Callisto?" asked Tecna curiously. We traveled down the stairs into the entrance hall. I knew Griselda was spying on us from somewhere, but I wasn't going to do anything about it. If I did get involved and try to stop her, I could negatively change the storyline and Bloom would have to keep playing her role as the princess of Callisto.

"Yeah, but I was expecting people in Magix to travel around in horse carriages or something," explained Bloom confusedly. Oh, Bloom. Your ignorance was so cute, I could just pinch your cheeks (the ones on her face).

"So Acadia, what magic do you have?" asked Stella quickly so the others would get suspicious of Bloom's cluelessness. We entered the crowed courtyard and started over to the front gate.

"Wind magic," I responded, though I knew she already knew that.

"Wind magic, huh?" Tecna was typing something on her handheld as we passed through the magic barrier. "So what realm or dimension are you from? I don't believe there are many wind fairies in this part of the magic universe."

"Uh…" Shit. I didn't know where my powers originated from.

"Who cares?" yawned Stella as she, Bloom, and Musa sat on the bench at the bus stop right outside the tall pink gate. "Magic's magic regardless of where you come from."

"And speaking of where we come from, we're the bus going to take us?" asked Bloom, finally looking up from her shoes.

"Magix City of course. It's the capital city of the planet," explained Flora patiently. "You've never been there before?" Bloom shook her head.

"You're going to love it," I assured Bloom as the _floating_ bus pulled up. "It might be a little different at first, but you'll get used to it." We boarded the near-empty bus.

"Close your eyes until we get there," suggested Flora as she sat down beside Bloom. "So it'll be a surprise." Tecna and I sat behind them. I cringed as Candi and a few of her friends climbed aboard the vehicle.

"I'm surprised you've never been to Magix City," stated Tecna, not looking up from her handheld as the _floating_ bus started down the dirt path. "Or that you've never heard of a bus for that matter. Callisto must be very old-fashioned."

"You know what's old-fashioned? Your outfit!" laughed Candi rudely across from us.

"Oh no she didn't," giggled Stella, twirling some blond hair around her finger.

"Fuck off!" I yelled at Candi harshly.

Candi's eyes widened. "Hey, you're the slut from that restaurant! How'd you end up at a top-notch school like Alfea? Did your _clients_ slash _boyfriends_ pay for your enrollment?"

And it was at that moment, I wanted to knock the hell out of her. And I was going to if Tecna hadn't grabbed my arm and pull me back down into my seat. "It's not worth it," informed Tecna knowingly, "I've already done the calculations. Resorting to violence will lead to disaster multiple ways."

"Who are you calling a slut anyway?" Musa rose from her seat beside Stella. She put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow. The other passengers were staring at us, quietly waiting to see what would happen next. "That's not nice."

"Unless it's true," giggled Stella slowly.

Forget Candi. Now I wanted to strangle Stella! "Why you…" I turned around to give her a shut-the-fuck-up look.

"What? I'm just saying," insisted the princess, holding her chin high as she continued to play with her hair.

"Hey, guys? What's going on?" wondered aloud Bloom, who had her eyes shut.

"Some bitch's about to get her ass kicked," I responded, glaring death at Candi.

"Just forget about her. She's just jealous because you're pretty." Flora flashed me a charming smile that almost made my heart melt.

"Ha! Pretty? In all of your girls' dreams," smirked Candi. Her friends giggled as she looked down at her phone.

" _Excuse me_?" Stella was furious now. She stood up, clenching fists and putting on a _what'd-you-just-say-to-me-bitch_? face like she was ready to cage fight. While Candi and Stella began arguing back and forth, I noticed a male passenger in the opposite row of seats was staring at Flora's boobs yearningly.

"Hey, jackass?! Who're you staring at?" I barked at him. Startled by my voice, he quickly turned his head to face the window.

"That's what I fucking thought," I muttered under my breath.

"How dare you talk to the princess of Solaria like that!" raged Stella, who was trying to shake away from Musa and pounce on Candi. The princess looked about ready to claw Candi's eyes straight out of her skull. That was, if I didn't do it first.

"Um, guys? Is everything alright?" Bloom (who still had her eyes closed) asked worriedly.

"You're a princess?" scoffed Candi, looking up from her phone at Stella. "You act like a toddler who hasn't taken a nap in days." She rolled her eyes and her henchmen laughed.

"That's right! Keep rolling your eyes. If you're lucky, maybe you'll find a brain back there!" I insulted harshly.

"Ooooh," went Candi's henchmen as their leader's face turned red.

"Dammmmmnnn," whistled a man from somewhere in back.

"Haha, good one!" Stella held out her hand, and I smacked her palm high five.

"Magix City!" announced the bus driver before Candi could fire an insult back at me.

"That's our stop!" Flora was up in seconds. "Let's go, guys!"

"This isn't over, _witch_ ," growled Stella as me, her, and the other girls disembarked the bus onto the sidewalk. Thankfully, Candi and her friends didn't share the same stop because they didn't get off the bus after us. "Well, that was fun," declared Stella, brushing off her skirt.

"Here we are, Bloom. You can open your eyes now," announced Tecna, who leading the redhead by her shoulders. "Take a look at the city."

Bloom obeyed. After taking a quick look at our surroundings, she frowned. "You look disappointed," observed Musa.

"Of course I am! This is it? Magix City, the most enchanted capital city in the universe?" Bloom obliviously stepped out on the street and stretched out her arms to emphasize the universe's vastness.

"Well, what did you expect?" chuckled Musa.

"I dunno. Dragons, gnomes, knights, wizards , shops full of magic wands." Oh, Bloom. Poor, poor Bloom. Always living in a fantasy.

"But that kind of stuff's only in fairytales. This is the real world," pointed out Stella as Bloom hopped back on to the sidewalk before being run over by a _floating_ car, "here, everything lives off its own magical energy. Magic is everywhere." She gestured around us. Floating television screens were levitating about, blasting TV shows and the local news. Parking spaces were spawning within their lots, and robots were even walking dogs.

"Good heavens!" Bloom seemed overwhelmed by it all.

"That's a place that girl on the bus is never going," I joked as we started down the sidewalk. We all laughed. As the girls conversed and chatted, I stared into the window of each and every shop we passed. If my memory was correct, Knut was inside one of them and was going to call the Trix when he spotted us.

I _could_ try to stop him but this was only the beginning and its occurrences were all critical (that's right. I was being smart). If I tried preventing him from contacting his mistresses (that sounds wrong, doesn't it?), I could really mess up the timeline.

Right before we turned a corner, I spotted the yellow ugly-as-shit ogre inside an eyewear shop. Just as we were passing by, he turned around and our eyes locked for a split second. I knitted my eyebrows at him, but remained quiet as we walked around the corner, disappearing from his sight.

I didn't need to worry about him now. Because later on, we were going to beat the shit out of him and his mistresses (still didn't sound right).

* * *

"I don't see what the problem is. I've dialed the number multiple times but it's not ringing," said Bloom frustratedly as she fiddled with her phone. It was dark out and the six of us were sitting outside a café, finishing our meal.

"Let me take a look. I'm really good with electrical devices," assured Tecna, taking the red phone from Bloom. After taking one glance at it, she laughed.

"What's so funny?" asked Musa, raising an eyebrow.

"This device is very primitive and ancient. Where did you even get this thing?"

"But it's the newest model," reasoned Bloom, pouting a little. Stella whispered something to her (something about Earth if I remembered correctly).

Tecna eyed them. "I'm sorry—I shouldn't have laughed. But you won't be able to call anyone with that thing. How about a phone booth? There's one just around the corner."

"Yeah." Bloom stood up and smiled. "I'll be right back; I just gotta call my parents right quick."

"She's an odd one," giggled Flora as we watched Bloom disappear onto the crowded sidewalk.

"Aren't we all," I chuckled. I rose from my seat, pushing aside my plate. "I gotta do something right quick, too. I'll be right back."

"Yesh. If it's the bill you people are avoiding, don't worry about it. I'm the princess of Solaria, okay? I can take care of it," insisted Stella as I started away. Pushing through masses of people, I jogged in the opposite direction Bloom went in. When I finally found an alleyway, I disappeared into the darkness engulfing it.

It was time to do this thing. I raised my hand up to the starry night sky. "Acadia, Magic Wind Power!" I shouted upward. And just like that, a breezy wind circled around me, replacing my casual attire with my fairy-form outfit. The cool air took shape on my back and hardened, forming my wings. Alright! Time to save Bloom!

I leaped high and the wind embraced me. Ever since the Ethereal Fairies gave me their power, I'd been practicing my transformations and spells. Though I could never summon my ethereal mode, I was pretty much comfortable with turning into a regular fairy.

I soared above Magix City, my wings fluttering madly. All the buildings were illuminated, casting a bright glow on the streets and sidewalk. I kept my eyes on the ground below until I spotted the Trix, Knut, and helpless Bloom in another alley. I gasped when I saw how Bloom was hanging on to the edge of a roof for her dear life.

Eager to leap into action, I swooped down and caught the girl just as she lost grip. "You okay?" I asked her, setting her on the ground feet-first.

"Yeah," breathed the girl, moving some hair out of her face. Her lip was bleeding and the rest of her hair was sticking to the sweat on her face.

I got in front of her and stared unhappily at the Trix and their pet ogre Knut. "How dare you attack innocents! Such injustice will not stand! In the name of the wind, I'll punish you." I struck a Sailor-Moon pose (c'mon. Give me a break. This was an appropriate time). "Prepare to be blown away by the winds of justice. So which one of you jackasses wants to go first?"

"Ugh. Who is this?" yawned Darcy, looking extremely bored.

"She's probably here to help this wannabe sorceress." Stormy hissed aggressively at Bloom. "Don't worry. I'll handle them both." She shot a magenta lightning spell at us.

"Wind's Protection." I held my hands up high and a shell of air formed around me and Bloom. However, Stormy's spell zapped it out of existence.

"Ha! Is that all you got?" she smirked, readying to throw another spell. "You're pitiful!"

"Right back at ya!" I manipulated the air into a wind blast and shot it at the witch of storms.

"Hmm. So she has wind magic," observed Icy, folding her arms across her chest as she eyed me.

"And so does Stormy." Darcy was matching her sister's stance. "Something tells me things are about to get gusty." Seriously? That was the best reference joke she could make? That was so obviously, shesh!

Using both hands, Stormy generated some magenta lightning again and aimed both bolts at me. "Watch out!" Bloom shielded her face, but I stood my ground. "Wondrous Wind!" I chucked my whispery blue spell at her. The spell sent Stormy flying all the way into a dumpster at the end of the alley.

"Who's next?!" I laughed.

Darcy stepped forward, but Icy stopped her. "No, sister. I'm getting tired of this. So what she defeated Stormy? She's _weak_ anyway. Ice magic, however, isn't so easy to beat."

"Tch. The cold never bothered me," I told her, jumping into a defensive stance.

"And I don't mind a little wind in my air," countered Icy. And without warning, she took a deep breath and exhaled deeply, blowing flurries my way.

"That's it?" I laughed as the somewhat cold snow stuck to my arm. "Just a little—WHAT THE?" The snow on my arm was starting to expand and harden, engulfing my arm in a thick icicle. It was kind of heavy, weighing down one half of my body. "SHIT!" I began pounding on the ice in an attempt t free my arm.

Darcy and Icy cackled as Stormy pulled herself out of the dumpster. "Never underestimate me!" laughed Icy evilly. While I was trying to free myself, the ice witch zapped the ground near my feet with a blue bolt. Next thing I knew, ice was beginning to spawn out of the ground, encasing my feet in it.

"DOUBLE SHIT!" I swore as the ice rose higher, swallowing my knees and legs and stopping at my waist.

"Acadia!" Bloom ran to my side, but Icy picked her off the ground with a ray of flurries. Laughing, the ice witch used her ray to throw Bloom onto the brick wall. The girl screamed and landed on some cardboard.

"Now, it's time to add the final touch!" Icy outstretched both hands and pure ice shards emitted from them at Bloom. I watched helplessly as shards expanded all over Bloom's body, rising up into a thick ice prison in which Bloom was trapped.

"What a pity you had to meet us, sweet little fairy," taunted Icy, walking over to her new work of art. She ran her nails against the ice, creating a terrible sound.

Shit, I needed to get free. "Trying to escape," giggled Stormy wickedly as she watched me attempt to break Icy's ice. "Sorry but there's no escaping that. But I'd be more than glad to shock you out of this world." I squeaked as she began to generate my lightning.

"Leave them alone!" cried out a voice. I looked over my shoulder to see the other girls standing in the alley. "Take us on instead!" dared Stella, pointing at Icy.

Icy yawned. "I wouldn't even bother wasting energy on you." She looked at Knut. "They're all yours, Knut. Have fun."

Knut looked confused for a moment (stupid ogre) and then realized his mistress was giving him an order. The yellow beast then roared and charged straight for the girls. Right as he was about to bring his fist down on them, the girls jumped out of the way. While they were in the air, they all transformed into their glittery fairy-forms.

"Her! She's the one with the scepter!" realized Stormy as Stella and the other girls landed with their new wings.

"Static Sphere!" Tecna shot green lines out of her hands at Knut, trapping him in a green cage.

"My turn! Sonic Blast!" Using her sound waves, Musa summoned two amplifiers beside Tecna's cage. They began to blast sound waves into Knut's ears.

"Golden Pollen." Flora blew sparkly flowers towards the ground and it exploded into glitter, growing ivy that wrapped around Knut. The Trix facepalmed as the ivy chucked the ogre overhead, sending him sailing over the rooftops.

Seeing they had to do the work themselves, the Trix stared at the four. "Alright! You asked for this!" Icy expanded her cape like wings and icicles began to fly out if it at the girls.

"Everyone behind me!" ordered Tecna. After they obeyed, she summoned a neon-green protective shield. All of Icy's icicles shattered against it.

While they were fighting, I thought of a good way to get rid of the ice I was trapped in. "Hot Pressure Power," I whispered, closing my eyes. I focused on the air pressure around me and manipulated it into rays so it'd melt the ice.

"Don't worry, sisters. I'll handle this." Stormy held up a finger and it worked as a lightning rod, summoning magenta lighting. She aimed it at Tecna's shield and it disintegrated, throwing the Winx onto the ground.

"And now, your end is near!" Icy glowed with snowy magic.

OH SHIT. The hot air pressure managed to melt the ice on my hand, so I attempted to throw a spell. But Stella was already throwing her wing into the air, screaming "Solaria!" Next thing I knew, she was swinging her scepter in our direction.

In a blink of an eye, all of us including a shivering Bloom were in some kind of park. "Well, that was a fail," I commented, realizing Bloom and me were no longer imprisoned in ice.

"Bloom, are you okay?" asked Stella, using her powers of the sun to warm Bloom, who was leaning against the fountain. "I have to say, I didn't think you'd survive for an Earthling . Most people would've already frozen to death-"

"Stella!" Flora, Musa, and Tecna hovered over Stella with angry looks on their faces. "Is there anything we should know about _Bloom_ from Callisto?" asked Flora, frowning (which I didn't think she was capable of).

Seeing she was caught, Stella slouched. "Well, I might have been fibbing a bit about Bloom's background," she laughed nervously. Noticing it was no use, she gave in and sighed. "I'll explain everything on the way back."

* * *

"Alright. I think it's alright," announced Stella in a whisper as we snuck back onto campus. "No one will ever know we were gone," she insisted as we started for the main entrance. And just like in the script, a bright light (almost reminded me of a jail light) shone down on us. "We're screwed," muttered Stella as the headmistress and Griselda approached us.

"Young ladies, we were worried sick. Go to bed immediately." Though Faragonda's expression was neutral, worry was clouded in her eyes.

Stella and the other girls started for the dorms, but I didn't move. "Wait a second." Griselda got in front of Bloom. "Isn't there something you'd like to tell us, Princess of Callisto?"

Bloom looked down at her feet shamefully. "Well, I'm Bloom and I'm from Earth."

"Ha! I knew it! You thought you could get away with tricking us!" Griselda seemed proud of herself like she just hiked Mount Everest or something. "You don't belong at this school!"

"Now, now. Bloom managed to get past the magical barrier, so she must be a magical creature." Faragonda took Bloom's chin gently and looked into her eyes. "Now, why didn't you give us your real name earlier?"

"Well, I-"

"Ma'am, it was my fault!" spoke up Stella. Like heck it was.

"That's okay, Stella." Bloom managed a smile at her. "I'm from a small town on Earth," she tried to explain, "I-"

"But that's outside the realm of Magix!" Griselda snorted. Ha! I guessed Earth and Griselda's fashion sense had a lot in common. "That's simply impossible."

"Please! Don't send me away," pleaded Bloom, "I've always wanted to be a fairy with all my heart and now I can make my dreams come true."

Griselda looked offended. "But you lied to us." She pointed at Bloom. "And that's-"

"But she also has a dream." Faragonda lowered the Grizzly's arm. "She has displayed a great tenacity and that is every quality a fairy should possess, right?"

Seeing she was defeated, Griselda sighed. "Yes ma'am."

Faragonda looked at us all closely. "It's time to go to bed, girls. And don't make any more noise."

"Yes, ma'am." We all saluted her and jumped for joy. While Griselda and Faragonda wondered about Bloom's origins, the rest of us ran towards the dorm with newfound glee.

"I can't believe I get to stay!" enthused Bloom as we entered the quiet entrance hall.

"I can't believe that girl from the bus managed to get away with her face intact," snorted Stella as we started for her and the other girls' apartment. I was tried and wanted some rest, but I didn't want to miss out on what was about to happen next.

"And now that we're friends, I think we should have a name for ourselves," decided Bloom as we entered the apartment. "Winx." And it was at that moment I was floating on air again.

"Actually, that's a good idea. A name's good for a quick reference," agreed Tecna, leaning on the wall.

"Ooh! The three witches are the Trix, so we should also have a super-cool name. We could call ourselves the Super Six! Or the Stella Six! What about the Airy Fairies?" enthused Stella, suddenly getting excited.

"The airy what now?" Musa wrinkled her nose.

"The Airy Fairies! It's sweet, it rhymes, and everything! Don't you like it, Musa?" I was all about air, but didn't say anything. Not yet.

"Nah. Sounds boring." Musa, who was side-leaning on the doorway, looked away and snorted.

"I vote Winx!" Flora raised her hand.

"Us too!" seconded the rest of us.

"Perfect!" Bloom reached out to open the drawer, but I beat her to it. "You see-"

"She already created the logo!" I declared, yanking the drawer open and removing the picture Bloom had already painted. I held it high for everyone to see. "Simple yet catchy."

"It's perfect!" Stella grabbed the picture and studied it closely.

"I like it too. But what does 'Winx' mean?" Tecna was obviously confused.

"Nothing. Just Winx." Bloom did the little thing with her fingers, creating red sparkles to float around the room.

"Now that that's settled, we should probably go ahead and get to bed. Classes are tomorrow," reminded Tecna, "and we don't want to be late."

"Hold on! We can't go to bed yet!" I protested, standing atop the chaise. "It's too early!" It really wasn't but who gives a fluff.

Stella snapped her fingers. "She's right. There's still one more thing we have to do before school officially starts: throw a pajama party. It can be our first-day-of-school tradition." The other girls exchanged looks.

"Oh, c'mon! Don't you guys know what a pj party means?" I hopped down from the chaise. "Truth or dare!" Stella and I exclaimed at the same time.

"Truth or dare? I've heard of it, but I haven't really played it," admitted Flora.

"That's why we have to!" insisted Stella, twirling around. "It'll start the school term with a _bang_."

"We won't be doing that will we?" Flora seemed panicked for a moment. We all just stared at her blankly.

I facepalmed. "She didn't mean that kind of bang, Flora."

The girl calmed down. "Okay, good. Just had to make sure."

"Eh, what the heck? I say let's go for it." Musa seemed excited too.

"Great! Everyone go get dressed and hurry back," directed Stella, starting for her room. "We don't have a moment to lose."

Something told me this night was going to be spicy. _Very_ spicy.


	5. Truth or Dare

"Alright, I'll go first!" I announced, looking around at all the giggling faces. The girls and I already changed into our pajamas and were in Stella's room, readying to play our first game of Truth or Dare as the Winx. I looked to my right at Flora, who was hugging a pillow against her body. "Flora! Truth or dare?" I asked with an evil giggle.

"Uh…" Flora started to sweat and glanced at the other girls.

"Dare, dare, dare!" chanted Musa and Stella in between giggles.

"It would be much more logical to go with truth," stated Tecna knowingly, typing something on her handheld. "That decreases your chances of injuring yourself by one-hundred percent and embarrassing yourself by seventy five. That is, according to my calculations."

Flora bit her lip as she considered Tecna's math. "Um…truth?" she decided, not looking that sure of herself.

Just as I planned! "What bra size do you wear?" I asked with an evil grin, looking at her big jugs.

Now Flora was really getting nervous. "Wh-why do you wanna know?"

"Just answer the question!"

Flora turned bright red. "34C."

I squinted at her boobs. "Really?" I asked in somewhat disbelief. "They look bigger than that." Flora blushed, nodding. "Alright. I'll go with that," I said, silently planning to sneak into Flora's closet later and invade her bra drawer to confirm her size for myself.

Flora turned to face Tecna. "Truth or dare?" she asked. The rest of us squealed.

"Truth," was Tecna's obvious answer. We all squealed again.

"Have you ever been kissed?"

"Ooohhh," went me, Bloom, Musa, and Stella.

"Of course," replied Tecna, raising her eyebrow like the question was stupid. "By my mother, father, grandmother-"

"On the lips," clarified Flora.

"No," answered Tecna effortlessly with an unsatisfyingly emotionless face. "Okay, Bloom. Your turn. Truth or dare?"

"Have you ever cheated on a math test?"

Stella, Musa, and I groaned at the lame-ass question.

"Well…" Bloom hesitated. "I once looked over at Willa Johnson's math test during final exams in the eighth grade," she admitted. The three of us groaned again. "Musa, truth or dare?" Much to Stella and I's relief, Musa chose dare. "Take off your pants until your next turn," challenged Bloom.

"Done!" Musa slid off her dark pajama bottoms and tossed them into the corner, revealing her black-and-pink-striped panties. "Stella, truth or dare?" she asked the princess, who was sitting cross-legged on her bed.

Stella flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Let's be serious: this game would be boring if we just told the truth every turn, so I'll go with dare."

Musa stood up in her panties and bowed. "As you wish, my lady." She rubbed her hands together evilly as if thinking up a good dare. After a brief moment of thinking, she snapped her fingers. "I got one! Stella, I dare you to go out on the balcony and scream that you have diarrhea at the top of your lungs."

Stella's face went red and she gritted her teeth at Musa. "No way!" she insisted, crossing her arms and holding her chin high. "I have a reputation, you know."

"Someone's a chicken!" I taunted, clucking.

"What's wrong, Stella? Not as big and bold ad you think you are?" Musa added on to my insult with an equally taunting smile. The two of us got up and started pacing around the room, imitating chicken movements as we squawked and clucked.

Stella clenched a fist and glared bloody murder at us. "I'm not a chicken!" she nearly yelled at us, standing up with a _what-did-you-motherfuckers-just-say-to-me_? look on her face.

"Then prove it!" dared me and Musa in unison, putting our hands on our hips.

The spoiled princess stomped a foot. " _Fine_!" she blurted, marching out of her bedroom. Giggling, the rest of us followed her into the rest of the apartment. At Alfea, a lot of the apartments had balconies that overlooked the central courtyard, and the Winx's was one of them.

The five of us stood by the double French doors as Stella swung them open and marched out onto the balcony. She glared at us over her shoulder for a moment and then straightened up, taking a deep breath. "MY NAME IS STELLA, PRINCESS OF SOLARIA!" she yelled at the top of her lungs at the starry night sky, "AND I HAVE DIARRHEA!" The second she said _diarrhea,_ lights flickered on all over the rest of the castle. Stella immediately froze with embarrassment.

Laughing like crazy, we pulled her back into the apartment before someone came out of their room and saw us. "That was hilarious," wheezed Bloom, wiping a tear from her eye.

Tecna, who didn't appear amused, closed the doors shut. "I don't see what was so funny. Diarrhea can be a serious issue when it comes to healthcare." She folded her arms across her chest and raised an eyebrow as if scolding us.

"Yeah, I hope you guys are happy," snorted Stella as we crowded back into her room. "My social life is officially ruined now thanks to all of you." She plopped back down on her bed in a funk as the rest of us arranged ourselves in the order we were in before Stella's little stunt. The princess glared at me with revenge-thirsty eyes. "It's your turn now," she hissed, "truth or dare?"

Though I knew Stella had it in for me because of that whole chicken taunting thing, I wasn't afraid of her. And it didn't really matter whether I chose truth or dare; either choice was going to be humiliating. "Dare?" I said, though it sounded more like a question because I was still unsure. I knew I was fucked the second Stella pulled out her phone.

"I dare you to take a nude selfie and let me send it to all the Specialists I know." Stella grinned devilishly at me and waved her phone around in the air. "All fifty of them."

"Now Stella, don't you think you're taking this a bit too far?" Flora stood up, putting her hands on her hips and a stern look on her face. "You cross the line when you put someone's dignity at stake."

"Yeah, I'm with Flora." Bloom nodded, trying to match Flora's face. Tecna simply hummed her agreement, not looking up from her handheld.

"That is kind of disrespectful, Stella," chipped in Musa, though smiling widely at the thought.

Although I was happy that my new friends were defending me, I could not back down out of a dare. "Fine. I'll take the picture," I said strongly, reaching out for Stella's phone. The other girls gasped and Stella simply smiled, obviously proud of herself.

"Just tap on the green camera button," she instructed, handing me her phone. "Be sure to stand in some lighting so you'll get a good capture. We want the Specialists to see everything, don't we?"

I forced a fake, stiff smile. "That's the point of the dare, isn't it?" I asked through my teeth, slipping outside. Since everyone was in Stella's room, I snuck into Flora's and Bloom's room and started to strip. I pulled of every piece of clothing one by one. First my tank, then my bra. Next my pajama pants and finally my panties. "Fuck my life," I grumbled, holding up Stella's phone as the camera pulled up, mirroring my body on its perfectly rectangular screen.

I tapped on the green button and took the picture, not allowing regrets and doubts to fill my head. Afterwards, I threw my clothes back on and returned to Stella's room, feeling surprisingly calm.

"There," I spat, tossing Stella her phone.

"You got guts, girl," smirked Stella, sliding her finger across the screen. I was gonna take that as a compliment. We all sat in silence as Stella's phone clicked repeatedly. "There!" she announced with a giggle, "I mass texted it to every Specialist I know."

The other girls gave me looks of sympathy. "That means it's your turn, Flora," I said, not bothering myself with Stella's dare. It was done anyway. "Truth? Or dare?"

"Truth," replied Flora almost instantly. She probably didn't want to take a chance with a dare and end up with one like mine.

Yes! Got her again! "Do you masturbate?" I asked, keeping a straight face.

The girl turned red as a tomato. "No!" she nearly blurted, shaking with embarrassment.

I tilted my head, studying her closely. "You suurrrrrreee?"

"Y-yes! Wh-why would I do something like that?" Flora avoided my eyes, looking down at Stella's carpet.

I narrowed my eyes on her, knowing she could feel my gaze. "Positive?"

 _Ping!_

Stella glanced at her phone and laughed. "Liam says 'hot bod'," she told me, still cracking up.

"Well, tell Liam he can go suck-"

 _Ping!_

"Forget it," I muttered with an eye roll.

"Alright Tecna, I guess that means it's your turn!" announced Flora quickly, obviously trying to avoid the question I asked her. "Truth or dare?"

As if she had to ask. "Truth." Tecna didn't even look up from her phone thingy.

 _Ping!_

Stella cracked up at another text she got, which was no doubt about that picture. "Who was your first crush?" questioned Flora, playing with her light brown hair. We all looked at Tecna, eager to hear her answer.

Once again, Tecna's reaction was boring. "Quincy from my first year of primary school," she replied, still occupying herself with her handheld. "Bloom, truth or dare?"

"Uh…truth?"

"What's the grossest thing you've ever had in your mouth?" The rest of us giggled.

"Ummm….." Bloom hesitated, making us even gigglier.

"Is it even appropriate?" wondered aloud Musa.

Bloom began to play with her fingers nervously. "Promise you'll never tell my parents?" she asked, looking around at us.

We all exchanged curious looks, each one of us trying to silently figure out what Bloom was about to confess to. But I think we all had the same idea. "You lost your virginity?" I asked her in a squealish whisper. And if I remember everything correctly, her boyfriend before she left Earth was Andy. Which meant…OH MY GOSH? BLOOM AND ANDY-

"What? No! I never got that far with a boy!" Bloom's face turned bright red. "Well, I almost did but that's not the point!" Bloom moved some carrot-red hair out of her face and blushed again. "One time when I was small, I went into my parents' bedroom to empty their trash bin-" She stopped and took a deep breath as if preparing herself for the bombshell she was about to drop on us. "And when I was dumping it, a used condom fell out-"

"Ewwww!" everyone except Tecna gagged.

"At the time, I didn't know what it was so I sniffed it and it smelt really sweet to me-" Bloom buried her face in her hands in embarrassment. "I thought it was candy or something so I tasted it-"

"EWWWWW!" This time, Tecna displayed her disgust with us by wrinkling her nose.

"Okay, okay! Enough said!" giggled Stella.

"Okay, Musa. Truth? Or dare?" Bloom was so embarrassed, she could barely look at the girl.

"Truth," decided Musa, grabbing her bottoms and sliding them back on. "Since I went with dare last time."

"What's the most embarrassing moment of your life?"

Musa didn't even have to think that one over. "Back in seventh grade, I got my period during gym class. Everyone was staring at me the whole time and the coach who happened to be a _guy_ pointed it out to me when it started dripping down my legs on the floor."

We all cringed. That wasn't eve n funny. It was just no. "Damn," was the only thing I could say. Everyone else hummed their agreements.

"Yeah. I was the talk of the school for at least a week. And the coach wouldn't look at me for two." Musa shrugged like it was no big deal. "Alright, Stella. Truth or dare?"

That was a no-brainer. "Truth," insisted Stella, flipping her blond hair over her shoulder. She most likely didn't want to fool around with a dare and get one even more embarrassing than the first.

Musa put on a serious face, which kind of scared me. "Would yo ever go behind a friend's back with a crush?"

Stella cocked her head curiously. "What do you mean? Like, secretly going out with a friend's crush?" Musa nodded. Stella shrugged. "It all depends how cute the guy is-" We all gasped with disgust. "Just kidding, just kidding. I wouldn't betray any of you like that," yawned Stella, leaning back on her pillows. Though we all agreed, we were eyeing her suspiciously. Note to self: never tell Stella about your love life…

"'Kay, Acadia. Your turn. Truth or dare?"

"Truth," I answered instantly.

"have you ever done 'it'?"

Of course. When it came to Truth or Dare, that question was a classic. "No," I responded shortly, "I've never even had a boyfriend yet." If I even wanted one in the first place.

"Thought so," snorted Stella, looking proud of herself for some reason.

"Whatever. Flora, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

HAHAHA. GOT HER _AGAIN._ "Has a guy ever touched your jugs before?" I shot at her.

Again, Flora turned crimson. "Wh-why do you keep asking me inappropriate things?" she stammered.

"Hey, that's the risk you took when you decide to play this game," I pointed out, "now, answer the question."

The girl started to fidget. "C'mon! Spit it out!" urged Musa with an anxious giggle.

"W-well, there was this one time," admitted Flora, looking down at the floor.

"Ooooohhh!" the rest of us gasped.

"He was my doctor! He was just feeling them to make sure nothing was wrong," insisted Flora, blushing even harder.

"Tch. Girl, please. He was just looking for an excuse to feel you up." Stella rolled her eyes at Flora's ignorance.

"No, he wasn't!" protested Flora, "that was just his job!"

"Then tell me: when you told your mom about it, you never went to that doctor again, did you?" Stella raised an eyebrow.

"No…"

"Exactly."

Flora bit her lip as in deep thought. "Tecna, truth or dare?" she asked, most likely inwardly cringing at her ignorance.

"Truth." Like always, Tecna was confident with her choice.

"What qualities do you like best in a guy?"

"Easy. He has to be intelligent, a quick thinker, and good with computers," replied Tecna with a small yawn. "I'm getting a little tired, so let's hurry this up: Bloom, truth or dare?"

"Tr-tr-truth!" sang Bloom, cuddling her pet bunny.

"What's the biggest lie you ever told?"

Bloom flinched, meaning whatever she was about to confess was going to be juicy. "Back in my last year of middle school, everyone was talking about 'it'. And out of peer pressure, I told everyone I had already done 'it' and wasn't a virgin. Being the first in my class to ever do something so 'cool', all the girls gushed over me and the guys tried asking me out."

"Saw that one coming," insisted Stella.

"Seriously. Did you ever tell them the truth?" asked Musa curiously.

"Nope. Everyone eventually forgot about me once another girl announced she had 'it' too."

Ah, middle school. I remember those fucked-up, Justin-Beiber-loving, let's-all-go-out-and-get-laid-because-it's-cool, you-aren't-fresh-unless-your-hair's-dyed, dieting-is-so-in days. Those were some weird-ass days, let me tell you.

"But enough about that. Musa, truth or dare?"

"Dare!" Musa jumped up to her feet. I'm ready for anything you throw at me!" she giggled, bouncing on her tip-toes with a come-at-me-bro look on her face.

"Hmmm…." mused Bloom, "let me come up with a good one." She snapped her fingers. "I got it! I dare you to prank call a random number on speakerphone!"

I stomped my foot. "Damn, I wanted that one!"

Flora giggled into her palm. "Isn't it a little late to be calling people?"

"That's the point of the dare! No one expects to get a stupid-ass call in the middle of the night," I informed knowingly. "Me and my brothers prank call all the time and it never gets old."

Musa took out her phone and waved it in the air for all to see. "I came prepared. I was kind of hoping someone would dare me to do this."

Tecna smiled playfully. "Though it seems illogical to pull innocents into our game, I am curious to hear the reaction of our latest victim."

I reached over and high-fived her. "That's the spirit, girl!"

Musa pressed a finger against her lips and shushed us as she dialed a number into her phone. We all suppressed our giggles as the line rang. Thankfully, someone picked up immediately. "Hello?" asked a sleepy, gruff masculine voice.

"You better come over and get this baby!" snapped Musa into the phone, disguising her voice so she sounded like a dumb blond.

" _Huh_?" The guy sounded awake now. "Who is this?"

"Don't play that crap with me!" sassed Musa, shaking a finger. "You know it's your week! Little Melissa here needs to see her daddy even if he _is_ a bum-ass." All of our faces twisted with laughter as if struggling to hold it in any longer.

"Ricky!" cried out an even dumber-sounding blond in the background. "I _knew_ it! You are cheating on me!" Something shattered. "How dare you have a baby with some stupid bitch!" Something else broke.

"Babe, no! Not the TV!" whined the masculine voice. We heard scuffling and muffled arguing for a moment.

"And to make things worse, you got me, like, pregnant with _triplets_ and thought you could, like, keep your lovechild a secret from me?!" raged the girl. The sounds of shattering glass resonated louder than her rants.

"Pregnant? Triplets? _Babe_!" The guy was obviously at a loss for words right now. From his terrified tone, this was obviously the first thing he'd ever heard of this.

I pounded the floor with laughter, tears streaming down my face as the enraged girlfriend broke something else. Stella was holding her side, laughing into her pillow while Flora and Bloom were rolling around, giggling lowly.

"Ricky, like, who's that in the background?" demanded Musa, maintaining her fake tone.

"WHO THE FUCK IS THIS?" yelled the girlfriend's sudden voice on the other end.

"Uh, who is _this_?" countered Musa.

"Like, Ricky's girlfriend, bitch! How long has this, like, been fucking going on?"

"Babe, I don't know who that is! I swear!" cried the man's voice.

"Yeah right, Ricky! Like, I knew something was fishy!"

"Naw, honey. That's your breath," sassed Musa.

The girlfriend gasped as if surprised someone would dare say something like that to her. "Like, I don't know who the hell you, like, think you are, but two can play at that game!" We all exchanged confused faces.

"What are you talking about, babe?" The man was just as confused as us.

"This whole time, I've been cheating on _you_!" The girlfriend laid the bombshell on us like the United States bombing Hiroshima.

"Babe! _What_?"

"I've been seeing your cousin for a few months now. And let me, like, tell you something! He's way more of a man than you."

We all cringed. "I think that's enough," said Stella with a nervous giggle as the couple began arguing.

Musa shook her head, pressing her lips together. "Hello? Um, excuse me?" she said a little loudly in her regular voice into her phone.

" _WHAT?"_ exploded the woman.

"THIS IS A PRANK CALL!" we all shouted. Afterwards, Musa ended the call.

"Guys, I think we might've ruined a relationship," said Flora worriedly, biting her lip guiltily.

"No way. If anything, we saved that poor guy," insisted Stella, sprawling across her bed. "That sorry-excuse-for-a-girl was cheating on him and we brung her wrongs into the light. Simple as that."

Musa nodded. "Destiny works in weird ways. By anyway. Stella, truth or dare?"

"That got me all excited, so I'll go with dare." Stella grinned. "Lay it on me, girl."

"With pleasure! I dare you to put one of Acadia's socks into your mouth for a minute!"

I pulled one of my fuzzy blue socks off. "It's fresh," I sang, dangling it around in the air. Stella winced and I tossed it over, pleased with her reaction.

"I'm gonna regret this," muttered Stella, cautiously picking it up.

"Alright, I set the timer on my handheld," announced Tecna, "looking down at the screen. On your marks, get set, go!" Stella stuffed the whole sock into her mouth. We all laughed as tears welled up in her eyes and she began screaming and waving her arms around in panic and disgust. "Thirty seconds to go," declared Tecna.

The blond princess rolled off her bed and onto the floor, kicking and screaming like crazy. "ISH DURNS!" she screamed, her voice muffled by the sock.

"Fifteen seconds!"

"C'mon, Stella! You can do it!" I cheered as the princess rolled around the floor in agony.

"Eight seconds!"

The princess flung herself on her bed and the second the timer dinged, she spat my sock onto the floor. "Yuck!" she whined, wiping her tongue on her sleeve.

"Soooo? How did it taste?" laughed Bloom.

"Like salt and vinegar! It was freaking _burning_ in my mouth!" She glared at me. "Truth or dare?" she hissed.

Shit. She was going to make this hard for me now. And I was gonna take it like a boss. "Dare!" I replied, giving her my come-at-me-jackass smile.

Stella grinned devilishly. "I dare you to sneak into Ms. Griselda's room and bring me a pair of her panties."

I choked on my own spit.

"Stella! That's enough," scolded Flora, frowning and folding her arms across her (massive) chest.

I stood up and put my fists on my hips regally. "I accept the challenge!" Tecna facepalmed, Flora sighed hopelessly, Musa kept smiling, and Bloom shook her head. "I _shall_ return!" I promised, marching boldly for the door.

Well, this was going to be the end of me for sure.

* * *

Holding my breath, I snuck carefully snuck down the steps, taking each stair _very_ lightly. I was praying none of the stairs were creaky because if one of the teachers found me, I'd be fucked for the rest of my teenage years and beyond.

Based off Stella's knowledge of the building (I guess getting held back was good for _something_ ), the teachers' quarters were on the first floor. Hopefully, since it was midnight and with tomorrow being a school day, none of the teachers would be up.

After what felt like an eternity, I made it to the bottom of the staircase. Barefoot, I cautiously crept through the entrance hall. The floors were slippery, meaning they had just been polished. Hopefully, none of the janitors were still up and about.

Following Stella's instructions, I maneuvered through a few halls until I reached a pair of double doors with a sign reading _Staff Quarters_ hanging above it. Bingo. I grasped the iron handle and _sloooowwwwwlllyyyy_ pulled one of the doors open. I opened it just enough so I could slip through the opening and into the beast pit also known as the staff quarters.

A few dim lights were on, illuminating the halls just a little. Thankful it was just me in the corridor, I proceeded down the hall with the speed of a caterpillar. As I passed, I read over all the signs posted on each door. Just like in the student dorm, they had the name(s) of the resident(s) residing on the other side of the door.

Breathing heavily, my heart skipped a beat as I came across a pair of doors that had a single name taped to it: _Griselda._ Score! Suddenly feeling like I couldn't breathe, I grabbed the doorknob and turned it ever s slowly. Light flooded out of the crack and onto my face as I opened the door wide enough to see no one was in it.

Thankful for this, I quickly hurried in and closed the door behind me. Realizing I was in enemy territory, my gaze drifted around the room. It was set up just like the ones in the student dorm, except all of Griselda's furniture was blandly brown or black. Her bed, bedspread, mirror, bureau-

Her bureau! She _had_ to keep her panties in there! Maybe I could get out of this alive after all! Planning the gloat I was going to throw at Stella when I got back, I hurried over on my tip toes. Hehehehe.

I couldn't help but feel naughty as I pulled open one of the drawers. Who knew what kind of old-people shit I was going to find in there.

I giggled at the neatly folded bras arranged within it. They were all so ugly with their plain designs and stringy, worn-out straps. But to be fair, I shouldn't have expected anything fancy or sexy considering Griselda was as ancient and old-fashioned as they came.

Bingo! I silently triumphed as I came across some even plainer-looking panties on the other side of the door. All I had to do was grab one pair and-

OH. MY. FUCK.

NO WAY.

I mouth fell open the second my eyes landed on the long, shiny, pink, pointy, metallic thing set beside the panties. Griselda had a freakin' _vibrator_? Without thinking, I grabbed the pleasure toy. That meant Griselda—

"What are you doing in my room?!" demanded the voice I knew all too well. I set the vibrator down and whip-turned to see Griselda standing in the doorway, wrapped in a towel and dripping water.

"Um…hi?" I was so fucked.

Griselda turned redder than a tomato. "How dare you! This is a violation of the rules and highly disrespectful!" Gris was so mad, she was stammering. "I'm going to report you to the headmistress at once-"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I interrupted in an old-school-movie-crime-boss voice.

Griselda glared death at me. "Who are you to threaten me?" she demanded.

I immediately grabbed the vibrator and held it up. "Tell the headmistress and I'll tell everyone about _this._ "

And it was at that moment, I knew I just saved my hide.

Griselda turned ever redder. "Er…what is that? Where did it come from?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Grissy." I kept my face expressionless.

Griselda bit her lip in defeat. " _Fine._ I'll keep quiet about this if you do. But this is the only time I'll excuse you," she warned, still glaring at me.

"Thanks." I put the vibrator back where I found it. I was about to walk out, but stopped when I remembered something. "Oh, and can I have a pair of panties?" Before she could even ask, I added: "Truth or dare."

Griselda looked about ready to pounce but only growled, most likely considering what was at stake. "You'd better return them in the morning."

"Gotcha!" And grabbed the first pair I saw, tucked them in my pocket, and casually started for the door like nothing even happened. But before I made my escape, I stopped in the doorway and looked Griselda in the eye. "I was never here," was all I said before disappearing back into the darkness in the hall outside.

 **Author's Note: I might do another chapter like this later on. I had fun writing it. Hehehe….**


	6. The Party

**Author's Note: Yay! I got 10 story alerts with only 5 chapters! Thank you so much! Story alerts always make me happy. It makes me feel like people are** _ **actually**_ **reading my fanfiction.**

* * *

I dreamed of Griselda's vibrator.

All freakin' night.

All I saw was that metallic-pink color gleaming in my mind over and over again as it vibrated, somehow sounding like Griselda's voice. Oh, the horror, the horror! I was thankful and lucky as hell when Flora finally shook me away, saving me from the beating Griselda was above to give me with her pleasure toy.

"Cadey? Acadia! Wake up! It's time to get up!" her sweet voice called as she shook my arm.

"GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!" I yelped, jerking awake and jumping up to my feet. My wild eyes, I glanced around at my surroundings. I was still in Stella's room along with the rest of the girls, but sunlight was now leaking through the curtains into the room. "HOW LONG HAVE I BEEN ASLEEP?" I yelled for some reason.

Bloom, who was lying on some pillows by the door, groaned. "Not so loud."

Still across her bad, Stella sat up to reveal her serious case of bed head. "We must've played truth or dare all night," she giggled, "and passed out from exhaustion."

"I told you we shouldn't have been playing so late," said the always-voice-of-logic Tecna, appearing in the doorway. She was already dressed and groomed for the new school day.

"Have long have you been up?" I yelled at her.

"About an hour."

"An HOUR? What time is it?" the rest of us yelled-panicked in unison.

Tecna glanced at the clock on her handheld. "7:30."

"7:30!" the rest of us exclaimed-yelled. And like we were high, we scrambled into our shoes and hurried out of Stella's room.

"We're so fucked!" I hissed, jogging through the girls' apartment and out into the hallway. Since everyone else had already gotten up and was heading off to classes, the hallway was empty. I ran into my apartment and then into the room Amaryl and I shared. Cursing under my breath, I hurried through my things, gathered up my hygiene products, and slung an outfit over my shoulder.

Now that I thought about it, truth or dare was my idea wasn't it? But that didn't mean I was to blame for this, right? If I recalled things correctly, _Stella_ was the one who kept suggesting we play longer every time one of us tried to end the game. So technically, it was _her_ fault!

Trying to shake away the sluggishness, I met up with the other Winx (excluding Tecna. Darn her and her punctuality!) in the large restroom. "Way to start our first day! If we don't hurry, we're going to miss class!" Bloom was saying, bending over the sink and splashing water on her face.I stationed myself at the sink in between her and Stella and got to work.

"This is all Stella's fault. She's the one who didn't want to stop playing," pointed out Musa, rubbing cleanser all over her face. _Thank you!_ See, I wasn't the only one with smarts around here.

"Oh no! Don't put this on me!" Stella managed to look away from her mirror (something I didn't think she was capable of doing) and pointed her hairbrush at me. " _Acadia_ was the one who thought it was a good idea to play two more rounds after her little run-in with Griselda." She snorted and went back to her reflection. "And why didn't any of you tell me my hair looked like this?"

Oh _hell_ no. "When I _did_ make that suggestion, it wasn't nightclub-closing late!" I countered, filling the crystal sink (pretty fancy, right) with water.

"Guys, it doesn't matter who did what," spoke up Flora with a mouthful of toothpaste before Stella and I could start arguing. "All that matters is that we get to class on time."

Stella was about to say something but shut her mouth as the bathroom door swung open and in walked Candi. Great. She's just what we needed. "Are you five _just_ getting up?" she smirked, putting her hands on her hips. I growled at her, eyeing her slut-worthy outfit. Why the hell was she showing her boobs anyway? She _barely_ had any in the first place! Besides, there weren't even any guys around to attract, unless you counted Professor Palladium.

"You better back off," I warned, pulling my black hair into a high, swinging ponytail.

Candi rolled her eyes and went over to the last sink on the right. "You girls are such _bitches_ ," she smirked, leaning in close to the mirror as she applied a thick coat of color to her lips. I'm surprised the glass didn't break the second she looked into it.

"Look who's talking," I said with a snort, retreating into one of the stalls so I could change my clothes. I slipped out of my pajamas and changed into a pair of sweatpants and a white tee as Stella and Candi continued to argue back and forth.

"C'mon, Stella. We need to go; we don't have time for this," pleaded Flora as I emerged, tugging on Stella's arm so we could leave the bathroom.

"Let me at her! Let me at her!" Stella was hissing, trying to reach out and yank Candi's stupid-ass hair.

"We're running out of time! C'mon already before we miss class," yawned Musa, strolling out of the restroom with her arms folded above her hair in a cool-girl manner.

"This isn't over!" Stella shouted at Candi as Bloom and Flora both dragged her out after Musa. "You'll hear from me again, trust and believe!"

And that went double for me. Hehehe….

* * *

 _ **Someplace Beyond the Characters' and Readers' Knowledge…**_

" _There we go! It's working!" triumphed Anagan as the crystal ball on the desk flickered on, white magic spiraling within it. The others applauded his hard efforts, knowing how hard of a job it was to get through the regimes' magic._

" _Yeah, but for how long?" asked Icy thinly, crossing her arms and shoulder-leaning on the doorway._

" _And how long will the protection spell last?" asked Stormy worriedly, "when it comes to detecting breeches in their system, the regimes work_ fast. _Remember the last time?" There was a moment of silence as the tragedies of the last mission flooded back into memory._

" _There is no need to worry. We put all of our magic into the spell, so it will not fail so soon," reassured Ogron, touching the crystal ball with a finger. In response, the glass rippled like water with magic. "Thanks to Gantlos' extra efforts, if they do catch on to us, the Eye will shut off instantly so they can't find out our location."_

" _Did I miss anything?" announced Darcy, flying past Icy and into the laboratory. She pushed aside some of the books and test tubes on the counter and sat down on the cleared space, crossing her arms._

" _Anagan got the Eye working again! If we hurry up, we may be able to find help," informed Stormy excitedly, her face glowing with hope._

"' _Might'? That's a strong word, don't you think?" snorted Icy, looking away with disbelief. "How many times have you said that?" The group was gathered in Anagan's lab with the hope of finding light in one of their darkest hours._

" _Oh, don't be so negative. There are still good people out there," insisted Stormy, playing with her lightning bang._

" _Yeah, but are they strong enough to defeat_ her _?" asked a gruff voice. Gantlos stepped out of the shadows with a scowl similar to Icy's on his face._

" _No one's stood up to the Empress in some time," added Icy, walking over to Stormy. 'Not after she single-handedly took over Eraklyon and Solaria." At this rate, she'll have Magix and the lost realms all under her control. And with the powers of all the magic schools-"_

" _Enough," ordered a calm voice. Everyone turned to see Valtor in the doorway, the lack of light making him look shadowy and mysterious._

" _Ah, chief. We were just about to call for you," said Ogron as their leader stepped into the light. "Anagan managed to fix the Eye, so we need to proceed immediately."_

" _Very well. Since the Empress knows we're still alive, she's most likely hunting us down," agreed Valtor, clasping his hands behind his back as he approached the Eye. "Everyone, get into position."_

 _Icy groaned and Darcy slid off the counter, looking just as unenthusiastic as her elder sister. Though highly doubtful of their success, the girls got into position around the table along with Stormy and the Wizards of the White Circle. Valtor put his hands on the Eye and began to chant the spell. "I call upon the magic of the ancients. Show us the universe's savior and the one powerful enough to defeat the Empress and restore balance to Magix."_

 _An image swirled into existence inside the Eye, but was too blurry to see. "My magic is not strong enough. We'll need another convergence," he announced, taking a step back to complete the circle the others were making._

" _I told you this wasn't going to work," said Icy, rolling her eyes. Everyone ignored her._

" _Lightning Strike!" Stormy aimed continuing magenta lightning at the Eye._

" _Beam of Illusions." Darcy outstretched a hand and casted a purple beam at the same target._

" _Icicle Attack." Regardless of her opinion, Icy sent nonstop ice chards at the magical crystal sphere._

" _Open, White Circle!" ordered Ogron as the other White-Circle wizards joined together and linked their magic. A white portal-like magic conjured on the ceiling and shot a pure-light beam down on the glass orb._

" _Ongoing Force of the Ancients." Valtor used both hands to cast the forgotten spell on the objective._

 _The Eye absorbed all of their spells and the image within started to spiral into clearness. "It's working!" gasped Stormy._

" _Don't you think it was a little risky of you four to open the White Circle like that? The dark fairies could've escaped Tir Nan Og," pointed out Icy, glaring at the Wizards of the White Circle._

" _It had to be done," was the only thing Ogron said as he and the others gathered around the Eye. The image inside the old magical item cleared completely, revealing footage of five girls walking down some kind of hall. They were swatting each other with towels and laughing carelessly._

" _Hey…doesn't that look like Alfea?" asked Stormy, leaning in closer for a better look._

" _Impossible. That school was destroyed," reminded Gantlos, frowning even deeper._

 _The Eye then zoomed in on its live capture, specifically the redhead girl in the middle. Icy and Gantlos growled while everyone else gasped. Stormy trembled and gulped. "Hey, isn't that-"_

" _Bloom, the Dark Empress," everyone finished._

* * *

"Whew. What a day," breathed Stella dramatically as we crossed the street. "All that work was tiring."

"Stella, what are you talking about? Today's only the first day so we didn't have any homework ," reminded Musa, rolling her eyes. " _And_ we got early release."

"What about that dodge ball game during gym? _That_ got me sweating for sure," insisted Stella, flipping her hair over her shoulder as we entered the city park.

"Not really. You were the first one out," I yawned, "we weren't even in game for ten seconds yet."

"Whatevs. I was still there and watching you guys sweat made me sweat," informed Stella like we were supposed to believe her.

"You're pathetic," I said dully as we sat down at one of the benches.

Flora inhaled the fresh air, obviously happy to outside in nature. "Not pathetic. Just… _different_ ," she corrected me, fingering the leaves on the bush beside the bench.

"Naw, I'm pretty sure the word's _pathetic_ ," I countered, picking my nose (that's right. I pick my nose. DEAL WITH IT).

"Acadia, stop it!" hissed Stella, swatting my hand. "We're being watched." All of us looked at her with _what-the-fudge-are-you-talking-about_ looks. The blond bobbed her head to the right and began doing that "sexy" hair twirling thing. The rest of us looked in that direction to see three hot handsome young men hanging out near the fountain across the park. They kept glancing at us as they joked with and slapped each other on the back.

Oh _hell_ no. We were not about to start this shit. Not today.

"Oh boy. This isn't going to end well." Bloom facepalmed.

"Why don't we go over and say hi?" giggled Stella, digging in her purse. She took out a perfume bottle and started spritzing some on her neck.

"No," Bloom and I opposed at once.

"Oh, c'mon! There's no harm in being friendly," insisted Stella, winking in their direction. "What's the worst that can happen?"

"What are you hoping to achieve out of this?" wondered aloud Tecna, whose eyes were glued to her handheld.

Stella sighed. "It's hard to believe you four are even teenage girls! Flirting with guys is what we do. And besides, they're really cute. Maybe one of us are destined to be with one of them."

"High unlikely." Tecna shook her head. "I'm doing the calculations now-"

"Forget that! Let's hurry and go over there before someone else beats us to it." Stella grabbed Bloom's arm and started pulling her towards the guys.

"Well, my day is officially fucked," I announced, standing up and following after them. Flora, Musa, and Tecna weren't far behind.

Stella was already working her magic by the time we caught up to her and Bloom. "Hi there," she was giggling, trying to look all shy and innocent. "What are you boys up to?"

I glared at the three boys. The first one looked just like Thor with all that blond hair, the second one was more Legolas material (he had the elf ears and everything!), and the third had a mop of brown hair and intense brown eyes that gleamed with potential. Shit. Why was I describing him like I was some kind of poet or something?

"We were just talking about a party," replied Thor, who was too busy staring at Flora's jugs (health class wasn't kidding about them being secondary sex organs) to even notice Stella.

My ears perked at the word _party._ A party meant alcohol and that was something I hadn't had in weeks. "Party? What party?" I blurted.

"Oh, just a back-to-school bash one of my friends are having," said Thor, finally ungluing his eyes from Flora. He then glanced at all of us. "You girls should come."

"Yeah. It'd be fun with hot chicks like you five around," said Brown Hair, flipping some hair out of his face and stuffing his hands into his pockets. He gave me a _I'm-a-bad-boy-bitch_ look and grin. Oddly, my heart fluttered at his public display of cuteness.

AH. WHAT THE HELL, MAN? WHAT WAS WRONG WITH ME?

Stella giggled, Tecna was still absorbed in whatever she was doing on her phone, Flora blushed, Bloom began playing with her hair nervously, and I just stared like I didn't know any better. "That'd be great. I haven't been to a good party in ages." Stella batted her eyes at the Legolas look-alike.

"Sweet. I'll write the address…" Thor felt on his pockets. "I don't think I have anything to write with…"

"Here. Just enter everything into my phone," giggled Stella, offering him her phone. While he did so, Stella batted her eyelashes again (seriously, woman! Do you have something in your eye?). "I'm Stella by the way."

"Cool. I'm Liam." He gave Stella her phone back. "And this is Harry." He gestured at the "Legolas". "And that's Miller." He jerked his head at Brown Hair and Matching Eyes.

"This is Bloom, Musa, Acadia, Tecna, and Musa." Stella pointed to each one of us, all of us quietly giving them are greetings (Flora was blushing hard at this point). "We can't wait to hang out with you tonight."

Correction: I couldn't wait to get my drink on tonight. 'Cuz trust me on this one. When I started, I was _not_ going to stop.

* * *

"How do I look?" asked Stella for the umpteenth time, emerging from her walk-in with a light blue dress on.

"Great," we all droned.

Stella indecisively looked down at her body. "No. This one isn't the right one either." She shook her head and backtracked into her closet.

"C'mon, Stella. You've been trying on dresses for at least an hour," I said dully, blowing some hair out of my face. The rest of us had been ready for thirty minutes at the least. All we really did was put on a fancier skirt or simple dress. Stella was the only one going all out.

"I can't just go out wearing anything," insisted Stella's muffled voice from the closet, "a princess always has to look her best no matter the occasion."

"It's just a teen party. There's really nothing to dress up for," I yawned. "Or no one for that matter."

"Oh, you're just being stubborn again. Don't you want to give the girls something to be jealous about? Don't you want the boys to drool over you?"

"No and double no."

Stella walked out of her closet with a short green skirt on. "I think this one's the _right_ one," she decided, twirling around in it. "What do you girls think?"

"Perfect!" we all fake-enthused so Stella would come the fuck on.

"Then it's settled! Let's head out to the party!" declared Stella, "right after I put on my makeup-"

"No!" we all shouted.

"But-"

"C'mon, Stella! At this rate, we're going to miss the party!" pointed out Musa as the rest of us started for the door. "And you know about the Alfea curfew on school nights…"

"I'm actually a little nervous about the party," admitted Flora randomly, playing with her fingers. "I've never been to an all-teen bash before so I really don't know how to act or what to do."

"There's not really a specific way to act," I told her as Stella took advantage of the situation and took out her makeup kit. "As long as you don't drink and get drunk, you should be good. Boys are known to take advantage of girls when they're high." Although I was going to get high tonight, I knew how to protect myself even when I wasn't in my right mind. But innocents like Flora would be a different story.

Flora nodded, looking grateful for the advice. "Alright, _now_ we're ready to party!" I declared, swinging the door open. "Stella, you better come on now or we're leaving your ass. "

"Hold on! Just give me a sec-"

"Later, Stella," called Musa as the rest of us exited the room.

"I've done some more calculations and I believe it is illogical to go to this party," informed Tecna as we walked down the crowded corridor. "We don't know these people or the others they invited."

"That's the point, Tecna. This is a great opportunity for us to make some friends," pointed out Musa, "outside the ones here at Alfea."

"Yeah, and there's _alcohol_ ," I added with a small giggle.

"You'd better hope Ms. Griselda won't take a smell test when we get back," teased Musa, shoving me playfully as we descended the stairs. "If you get busted, Griselda could forbid you from leaving campus."

Shit. I didn't think of that. "Don't worry. I won't get caught," I promised them, "I'm an expert at this kind of stuff. I've been sneaking out under my mom's nose for years now." I know, that wasn't something to be proud of. But hey! Girls gotta have fun everyone once in a while.

The five of us stayed silent as walked across campus over to the bus stop outside the gate. We didn't want to risk sneaky Griselda eavesdropping on our plans and reporting us to the headmistress. There were four other girls waiting at the bus stop, all of them dressed in cute skirts and dresses. One of them smiled at us. "Liam's and the guys' party?" she assumed.

"How'd you guess?" teased Musa as she, Bloom, and Tecna took seats on the bench.

Traveling down the dirt road, the public bus rolled to a stop in front of its stop. "Where's Stella? Doesn't she have the address?" I just remembered as the other group boarded the _floating_ vehicle.

"Wait! Here I am! I'm coming!" called Stella's overly familiar voice. The blond was running towards us (how does she do that in high heels?!), waving her arms around as she quickly approached.

"Whew. For a second there, I thought we were screwed," I exhaled in relief as the blond joined us.

"I told you to only give me a second," she teased as we climbed aboard the bus, readying ourselves for a night of fun and adventure.

* * *

"I knew I shouldn't have worn heels. These things are killing me _already_ ," groaned Bloom as the six of us strolled down the strip of sidewalk. The sun had already set and the moon and stars were casting their glow down on us and the rest of Magix City.

"Oh, stop complaining. A good pair of high heels can make any girl look sexy," insisted Stella, her own heels clicking extra loud against the sidewalk.

"This is a very nice neighborhood," observed Flora, playing with her high ponytail. She was right; impressive, massive mansions aligned both sides of the street, complete with their glistening stone fountains, matching driveways, sculpted curb appeal, and sleek Mercedes-like vehicles parked on the other side of the tall iron gates.

"Eh, I've seen nicer," yawned Stella. We all ignored her typical rich-girl behavior.

I knew the party was huge due to the rows of cars lining the curb on both sides of the street. "I _still_ don't think this is a good idea," spoke up Tecna, taking out her phone _again._ "I've re-redone the math, and this will all most likely end in flames."

"Oh, lighten up. How can a computer determine stuff like that? It's impossible to calculate our moves before they even happen." Stella didn't Tecna a time to answer. "Well, here we are," she announced as we stopped in front of a lit LA-style mansion. The laughing, shouting, and music was intense even from outside. The princess smoothed out her skirt with her hands. "How do I look?"

"Great," we all droned again, tired of her asking us that same question ever two minutes. While the blond fused with her hair, I impatiently started up the long, steep driveway. I was ready to get my drink on _now._

Among the smokers and making-out-against-cars couples, I spotted Riven leaning against one of the driveways, mumbling into his phone. I glanced over my shoulder to see if Musa had noticed, but she was too busy pushing Tecna towards the mansion. I shrugged. All in due time, I guess.

On my way up to the front door, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the shiny side of a shiny sports car. A girl with dark mascara and a high ponytail in a GET-THE-FLUFF-OUTTA-MY-LIFE off-the-shoulder top and torn jeans stared back. I'd really gone for the rebel-without-a-cause look and I apparently did a god job considering Stella said I looked like a witch earlier. Just because I was a fairy didn't mean I had to dress like one. Besides, the purpose of a teen party was to get wild in both attitude _and_ style.

And it was obvious the other guests felt the same way because the second I opened the French doors and walked into the foyer, my eyes were exposed to the trendy-edgy-gothy-stylish-let's-crazy atmosphere around me. While the guys sported painted-on-muscles shirts and exposed their skin in extremely ripped jeans, girls were dressed in fishnets, tight belly shirts, combat boots, edgy skirts, and all the other trend-defying combinations. Stella had been doing all that talk about me when _she_ was the one who was gonna stand out.

But alas, I wasn't here to judge people's clothes. There was only _one_ thing I was interested in. "Where's the soda?" I asked two girls who were hanging out on the stairs, holding plastic red cups filled to the brim.

The one with rainbow hair took a sip of her "soda" and laughed all high and giggly, indicating that wasn't the first round of "soda" she'd had. "In the kitchen right down the hall," she said in a high-pitched British accent. "Betta' hurry before it's all gone, love."

I was so there. Using the plastic-cup holding crowd as my guide, I navigated through the marble corridor until I found the Kardashian-worthy kitchen. The nauseating yet fresh smell of alcohol greeted me and I instantly charged for the kegs and coolers by the table. "Come to mama," I muttered, snatching a plastic cup off the counter and positioning it under the dispenser.

"You don't play," laughed the girl behind me as I held down the nozzle, watching my cup fill up with light brown liquid.

"I haven't had any in weeks," I said, slowly picking up my cup with both hands so it wouldn't spill. "I'm about to get _wasted_."

I stepped aside so she could get her share of the goods. "Same. It's hard to get high with my stepmother around all the time," she chuckled, dispensing some liquid into her cup. As she did so, I studied her closely (not in a creepy-stalkerish way). With her black hair piled atop her head, ripped black off-the-shoulder THINK BEFORE YOU WEAR PINK shirt, small purple skirt, fishnets, high heels, and pearly earrings, she looked like the forgotten child of forever 21 and the local thrift store.

"I hear ya." I gave her a nod as Stella strolled into the kitchen, arm-in-arm with Liam. I chugged my beer, eyeing the pair as they escaped through the backdoor out into the yard. They certainly hit it off fast. Weird. I thought Liam was into Flora, considering he'd been staring at her boobs earlier.

"Friend of yours?" inquired Think-Before-You-Wear-Pink girl.

I didn't know if she was talking about Stella or Liam, so I just nodded again. "There're lots of dudes out there, but I don't give a fluff about them. All I care is this." The girl held up her now half-empty cup.

"Same here," I replied half-heartedly. But I cared about other things, too. And my friends were one of them. "I'll be right back," I told her, refilling my cup and taking off. The alcohol smell was much stronger in the hallway, making me choke (even after all these years, I _still_ wasn't that used to the smell).

I found Tecna in the living room, conversing with her fellow computer nerds. Meanwhile, Bloom was making shy-girl talk with a few other girls and Musa was hanging around the DJ at his turntables, thumb drumming to his mix. I was in hot search for Flora when I ran into Miller in the rec room, causing me to accidentally splash a little beer on him. "Oops! Oh no, I'm so sorry!" I apologized quickly, looking around for a napkin or something as the beer melted into his boxy plain tee (which made him look very hunky by the way), creating a wet spot.

"No, no. It's okay. This isn't the first time a cute girl spilled something on me," winked Miller, his brown hair falling into his face. While I was trying to determine if that was a dirty joke or something, Miller ran his fingers through his mop. "I'm guessing you like the party," he teased, eyeing my beer-filled cup.

"Yeah," was all I could say as an unusual jittery feeling unsettled in my stomach. What was this sensation I was experiencing? It was so… _new_ to me. "How about you?" I managed to ask, looking down at my sneakers as if suddenly fascinated by them.

"Eh, it's al right." Miller didn't sound so enthusiastic. "I thought I'd get a chance to meet some decent people around here, but everyone I've came across so far is only interested in beer." I suddenly felt guilty for having that very thing in my clutches at the moment. "And sex," he added. I calmed down. "It's just hard to find decent people these days," he went on as the music's bass got louder and more intense.

"I hear ya," I snorted, thinking about my bum-ass white-trash-across-the-street neighbors back in the Real World.

There was a moment of silence as we both stood there, shifting from foot to foot awkwardly. "You know, you're pretty," Miller finally said, his serious gaze causing me to do something I rarely did: blush.

"Th-thank you," I stammered, my cheeks burning.

Harry was about to say something more, but a pair of biker chicks bumped into him as they passed. "Why don't we go outside and talk?" suggested Miller, hissing at the mist of motor oil and beer that lingered in their stead.

"Yeah. Sounds great," I nodded, using my free hand to play with my hair. What was wrong with me? Why as I suddenly feeling this way? Was this… _love_? I instantly felt violated by the beer I held, knowing Miller didn't fare to well with alcohol (which was respectable). That being said, on our course for the kitchen, I left my cup on the first table I saw. Some no-standard was probably going to finish it off for me anyway.

And speaking of beer, what about my breath?! I breathed into my hand and sniffed my palm, paranoid that I had beer breath. Damn, something told me I shouldn't have been drinking. Well, that was a lie, but still!

Once we made it to the kitchen, Miller held the backdoor open for me. "After you," he teased.

"Why thank you." An icy slap of night air greeted me as I stepped out onto the patio and into the grass. Once my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I spotted Liam and Stella flirting with each other on the patio furniture and Flora sitting on the stony ledge of the pool beside Harry, dipping their bare feet in the water as they held hands.

"You know, your eyes remind me of the sun," I heard Liam remark as he playfully tugged on Stella's hair. She giggled in response.

"I knew there was something special about you the second I laid eyes on you," whispered Miller, turning me around and cupping my face in his big hands. I blushed, looking into his brown eyes, which seemed to outshine the moon.

"I…I felt the same way," I admitted. He pulled me closer to him, his warm breath tickling my face. I closed my eyes as our lips neared, readying to share our first kiss-

"Miller! Miller, what are you doing ?"shouted a voice, starling us apart. Everyone in the yawn stopped what they were doing to see a girl with magenta hair standing in the doorway, light from inside pouring outside onto the patio. With hands on her hips, she marched out with two equally pissed girls on her heels. "What are you doing with _her_?" Magenta Hair yelled at Miller, pointing at me accusingly.

The two other girls stormed past us, one stomping to Stella and Liam while the other to Flora and Harry. My heart raced as realization washed over me. "Get away from my _boyfriend!"_ yelled the one with blue hair, grabbing Stella's hair and yanking her up off the lounge chair beside Liam.

"Hey! What's your problem?!" Stella yelled back, pushing her away.

Oh.

"Harry, what are you doing with this girl?" the third one cried, pointing at Flora.

Hell.

"You little whore! What are you doing touching _my_ man?!" Magenta Hair screamed at me, shoving me.

 _No._ "You fuckers have _girlfriends_?" I shouted at Miller, shaking Magenta Hair off me as she reached out to pull my hair.

"Babe, it's not what you think," whined Harry as Pink Hair bawled into her hands. Confused and worried, Flora inched away from Harry, grouping up with me and Stella.

"Don't act like you didn't know!" raged Blue Hair, her fiery eyes glowing with hatred and anger. I felt myself heating up as the other guests came outside, crowding around us with eager faces as if expecting a fight.

"We didn't! They didn't tell us anything about you!" Stella shot back at her, becoming defensive. Her hair was messed up, but she was too upset to notice. While Magenta and Blue hair got into an intense verbal battle, I happened to make eye contact with Tecna, who was among the other spectators. She gave me an _I-told-you-you-so_ look and I scowled.

"Please, this is all just a mistake. We didn't know anything about you guys, honesty!" Flora was on the verge of tears. While the three of us were trying to defend ourselves, Miller and his two buddies were just standing by the pool, looking every bit full of themselves. I clenched a fist, sharply inhaling the night air. They played us. They planned this. And we fell for it.

"Don't listen to them! They tried to take advantage of us and our guys!" Blue Hair told Magenta Hair and a still-sobbing Pink Hair.

"It's the other way around, jackass! Your _guys_ played us, too!" I barked at them.

"Shut up! We don't want to hear it anymore! You're going to pay for what you did tonight!" assured Magenta Hair, "let's teach them a lesson, girls." She raised a hand in the air. "Magic Daisy, Animal Power!"

Pink Hair copied her friend's stance, tears streaming down her face. "Magic Lillian, Love Power!"

"Magic Mira, Armor On!"

And right before our eyes, the three girlfriends transformed into their magic forms. While Magenta and Pink Hair were in their fairy forms, Blue Hair was now in some kind of black, lacey stripper outfit with a whip in hand.

"What's she supposed to be?" I asked Stella in a sharp whisper.

"There are different types of magic forms," she hissed back, "the bitch with blue hair is a Warrior Class while her friends are Fairy Class." The blond glanced at Flora then me. "What are we waiting for? Let's show these girls a lesson." Quivering and biting her lip as if trying hard not to cry, Flora shook her head and stepped away. "Flora, what are you doing? Aren't you going to defend yourself?" Stella practically yelled at her.

"No! Th-this is wrong," hiccupped Flora, allowing the tears to flow down her face. Tecna and Bloom hurried over to her and guided her back towards the house, leaving me and Stella with the beasts who wanted to fight us.

"Whatever," spat Stella, "I'm not going to let anyone push me around. Magic Stella, Sun and Moon Power!"

Like her, I was heated and ready to rumble. "Magic Acadia, Wind and Air Power!"

Within seconds, we were in our glittery fairy forms . "It's three against two! You can't win!" laughed Blue Hair (Mira, was it?), swinging her whip in our direction. Fortunately, Stella and I were able to take to the air just in time. As a result, Mira ended up lashed the two trees behind us. They immediately split in half, their tops slowly falling into the pool with a loud splash. Damn. She had a strong arm.

"I won't allow you two to interfere in any girl's love life _again_!" cried out Lillian, outstretching a hand at Stella. "Mega Heart Meltdown!" She suddenly fired a sugary pink spell at Stella, who dodged it easily. Lillian wasn't stopping there. "Dripping Heartache!" She chucked an identical spell at me, but missed by a long shot. I didn't even have to move—the spell just sailed overhead. Lillian's tears must've been blurring her vision because her aim was _way_ off.

"Lilly, pull yourself together!" barked Mira, who was lashing her whip at Stella so fast, I couldn't even see it. Thankfully, Stella's little wings were carrying her back and forth and side to side, avoiding each lash by a small shot.

"I-I can't! I'm so hurt," sobbed the all-pink fairy, landing on the ground as she wiped away her tears.

"Blue Crystal Attack!" Using both hands, Daisy sent a storm of icicles my way.

"Wind's Protection!" I activated my whispery blue shield just in time, causing all the ice shards to ricochet off it. "Wondrous Wind!" My spell sailed through the shield at Daisy, knocking her off balance. Feeling really pissed off, I hurled another spell at her, causing Daisy to fall to the ground in defeat. I was about to attack her again to finish things off but Mira managed to whip my arm, making me stagger backwards.

" _Bitch_ ," I snapped at her, holding my stinging, bleeding arm.

Stella landed in front of me, conjuring a bright spell around her hand. With fire-fueled eyes, she was about to throw it at Mira but hesitated. Instead, she turned around and fired it at Harry, Liam, and Miller. The three flew into the fence in response, causing their "girlfriends" to cry out and rush over to their sides.

Stella inhaled deeply and reverted to her regular state. "Let's go," she whispered, taking my arm and guiding me towards our friends. The crowd parted for us and I could feel all of their eyes on us as we and the rest of the Winx started for the house.

I recalled what Miller said about all the indecent people in the world.

Who would've known he was one of them?


	7. Would You Rather?

**Author's Note: OH MY GOSH! I've gotten THREE new story alerts since last chapter! And someone asked about that confusing italicized part of last chapter. Hehehe. Sorry, but I can't answer that question right now. That's for another time. Hehe….**

 **Be sure to criticize/review!**

* * *

 **XXX**

"Would you rather have projectile vomiting or uncontrollable farts?" I questioned, shoulder-leaning on the wall and looking down at the banner Flora was painting on the floor.

"Eh, I'd go with the puking," answered Musa with a yawn, taking a break from her balloon blowing. "At least then people would just think I'm just sick instead of uncommonly gross."

"I wouldn't go with either. Both are beyond disgusting," insisted Stella, holding her chin high and flipping her blond hair over her shoulder (typical blond move, am I right?). We and a few other girls were in the gymnasium, getting ready for the big back-to-school (more like back to the snake pit) ball Alfea was hosting with Red Fountain later tonight. The Winx and I had already gotten over the boys from last night's party, and were back to our usual selves like nothing even happened in the first place. I mean, why cry over lower-than-shit boys anyways? We were better off wailing over spilled milk or something.

"Flora, would you rather fuck a toothbrush or a jar of pickles?" I shot down at the girl, grinning devilishly. We were engaged in a hot game of "Would You Rather?", using it as a distraction to pass the time as we worked on the decorations.

"Q-quit asking me such things! It's very inappropriate!" protested Flora, hanging her head lower so her hair would hide her blush.

Hehe. I loved bullying Flora like this. Not to be mean or anything, but just to observe and laugh at her innocence. It was hard to find such uncorrupted souls these days. And Flora was one of the rare-rare-rare angelic specimens that were only born into the world every five years.

"Then how about we turn the tables, shall we? Cadey, would _you_ rather 'do' Professor Palladium or Professor Wizgiz?" giggled Musa, digging into the plastic bag on the table beside her. She took out a deflated balloon (which kind of looked like my granny's boobs), and began blowing air into it. Flora groaned and Stella laughed out loud.

"Tch! That's a no-brainer!" I snorted, pressing decorative stickers onto the wall. "Palladium! Wizgiz's manhood is probably smaller _him_."

"Cadey!" gasped Flora, standing up, folding her arms across her huge jugs, and frowning at me. "That's not nice!"

"I know." I pouted, sticking out my bottom lip in a mocking manner. "I shouldn't be hating on small penises. It's not their fault, right? Even though they could always invest in growth supplements-"

"No! That's not what I meant!" Flora stomped her foot, her face turning even redder. Musa and Stella laughed even harder, holding their sides.

"Hmph. Didn't I tell you she was a slut?" went a random voice. We all turned to see Candi standing in the doorway, hands on hips and looking even viler than ever. "All she does is think and talk about sex. So disgraceful."

"Oh, I know you ain't talking," I countered, "at least I'm still a virgin."

"Who are you to tell me I'm not?" snapped Candi, stomping over with a _come-at-me-bitch_ look on her face.

"I saw you at that stupid-ass party last night. Some guy had you pinned against the wall and-"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" blurted out Candi, cutting me off. "You're just making up things again!" She stomped her foot and scowled.

I bent down and reached into Flora's paint bucket, removing the pink-colored paintbrush. "I'm not afraid to use this," I warned, waving it around. Some accidentally flung off the brush, landing on Stella's green top. She gasped in horror. "Oops. My bad," I chuckled.

"Hey! This was one of my favorite tops!' Stella gritted her teeth and her fiery eyes lit up.

"You say that about all of your clothes," I pointed out, not paying attention to her rants. "I got paint on it. So what? Get over it."

"UGH! I'm going to pull your freakin' hair out!" raged Stella, charging at me with her claws ready.

OH SHIT. "What's your problem?!" I yelped as she pounced on me, grabbing my curly hair.

"Tch. Whatevs. I'm out of here," yawned Candi, turning around and leaving while Stella and I cat fought. "You girls are beyond loony." That was a compliment coming from her.

"Guys, guys! There's no reason to fight! Please, calm down!" pleaded Flora as she and Musa hurried over and tried separating us.

"Girl, it's just motherfucking paint! Just wash it off!" I yelled as Stella as Musa pulled me away from her. "It ain't rocket science!"

"Do you know how hard it is to get a stain like this out of pure cotton?" Stella shot back, trying to free herself from Stella's grip and throw herself back at me.

"Guys, guys. It's just a little paint stain. There's no need to fight over something as irrelevant as that," said Musa without interest. "Let's just keep playing the game. Acadia, would you rather eat toothpaste or drink liquid soap?"

"I eat toothpaste anyways, so the first one," I shrugged as we all took seats on the shiny, polished floors. We were almost done decorating the gym; multi-colored streamers and banners were draped across the walls, ornaments-thingies hung from the ceiling, and most of the tables had already been set up. The only thing left to do was hang up the dozen balloons Musa had already blown up.

That being said, we were going to take a break before finishing up. "Flora, would you rather have oral sex or give it?" I asked with a sly giggle.

Flora's face became an even _brighter_ crimson color. "Stop it! You're making me uncomfortable!" she insisted, crossing her arms and looking away. "What kind of question is that anyway?"

She'd totally give it. And from the looks on Musa's and Stella's faces, they knew it too. "Alright, alright. Forget I asked," I said, giving her an eye roll.

Musa clapped her hands together. "Stella, would you rather lick the toilet seat in stall number seven or Griselda's feet after a long nature hike?" she asked, looking even more mischievous than me (if that was even possible).

We all shuddered. Stall #7 was the nastiest, most vile stall in the bathroom upstairs in our wing. No matter how much the janitors scrubbed, the stall was always shittier than a person with diarrhea the next day. And until this day, it's a mystery on how the stall got that disgusting in the first place. No one had even seen anybody use it.

Stella gagged. "If it isn't sexual, it's _always_ disgusting," she muttered under her breath.

"Just answer the question!" exclaimed me and Musa in unison.

"Fine. I think I'd take my chances with stall seven," replied the blond, pulling a compact mirror out of thin air and holding it up to her face. We all hummed our agreements. "And two can play at that game, Musa! You wanna get dirty, then fine! Let's get dirty. Would you rather swim in a pool of vomit or dog duty?"

I choked on my own spit and Flora sighed with disgust. "Eh, vomit for sure. Dog poop is literally has one of the worst smells on the planet. At least puke comes through the mouth instead of the back of a puddle's butt."

"Can't you people ask _normal_ questions for once?" groaned Flora, facepalming.

"Hey, that's the risk you took when you played with us," I pointed out playfully. And to be honest, she literally couldn't have chosen a worse trio. Musa, Stella, and I were all the "fire" to the Winx Club, while Bloom, Tecna (I think), and Flora were the sweet ones.

"Cadey, would you rather be the funniest or the smartest person in the room?" inquired Flora, turning around on her butt to face me.

"Well, I'm already both," I insisted with a snort, "but if I had to go with just one, I'd stick with the funniest. Brains are all good, but laughter is even better. I mean, smarts ain't everything. Besides, why do I need to be the smartest when we already have Tecna?" Laughter was the best medicine around. It might not've cured diseases, but it could relive ANY pain. "Musa, would you rather have three super-sweet kids and a shitty husband or a sterile but loving husband?" I threw at the Japanese (who whatever ethnicity she was) girl.

"I'd go with the kids and the shitty husband," responded Musa instantly, "I could always divorce the husband anyway. Besides, I don't sweat men."

Yeah. She's saying that now. But when Riven comes around, she'd definitely be signing a different tune for sure.

"Flora, would you rather win 90,000 dollars or let your BFF win 900, 000?" asked Musa, criss-crossing her legs.

"That depends. Which BFF?" asked Flora with a sweet smile.

"Bloom."

"Then I'd let her win 900,000. She'd need the money more than me. And Bloom's sweet, so she'd probably share some with me. Now if you said Stella, I'd rather win 90,000."

"Hey! I'm sitting right here, ya know!" grumbled the princess.

"Oh come on, Stella! You're already loaded, so you wouldn't need that money," I mentioned, knitting my eyebrows.

"Whatever."

"Stella, would you rather have twelve kids and all the money in the world or no kids and no money at all?" asked Flora, tilting her head at Stella with a curious look. We weren't really playing the game in order of our seat arrangements, so we were just throwing questions at each other randomly.

"Twelve kids and all the money in the world. If I had that much money, I could just ship them off to classy private school or something," yawned Stella.

Whoa. Harsh, man. But what did I expect from somewhere like Stella? I just hoped no child was going to be cursed with her as their mother. And I think Musa and Flora were praying so, too.

"Cadey, would you rather always speak what's on your mind or never speak again?" was Stella's question as she yawned again and stretched out on the floor.

"I always speak what's on my mind anyway, so the first one. I'd just give up on life if I couldn't talk ever again. Who'd insult and humiliate Candi in my place?" I asked, mocking sadness. "Flora, would you rather have diarrhea-" Everyone groaned and I rolled my eyes. "During your wedding ceremony or during your wedding night?"

"Wedding night. I wouldn't mess up my wedding dress then," answered Flora quietly. I tried imagining Flora during hers and Helia's wedding with a huge brown stain on the back of her dress. That made me laugh out loud.

"I'd personally go with the wedding ceremony. If I had diarrhea at night, I'd be too busy squirting into a toilet instead of getting it off with my new husband," I informed matter-of-factly.

"Of course you would. Once again, you prove to have little to no decency," speculated Stella kind of rudely, sitting up and using her magic to summon a hairbrush into her grasp. I ignored her.

"Stella, would you rather have taste buds in your butthole or poop through your mouth?" asked aloud Musa to my defense.

I laughed even louder. "How would that even work?" I wondered aloud, "would you have to bend over and shove food into your asshole?" I got on my knees and pressed on my butt as a demonstration. Musa cracked up, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Ugh! You and Acadia are one of a kind," hissed Stella at Musa and then at me. "But if you must know, I would rather poop through my mouth." She crossed her arms and held her chin high with embarrassment. I choked on air and Musa laughed even harder, holding her stomach and falling onto her backside. "Quit laughing! Both are equally disgusting, but if I absolutely _had_ to go with one, I'd poop through my mouth. At least I'd be able to feel it and get out sight so no one would have to see me."

"Wait. So would that mean you'd have to bend over the toilet with your mouth hanging open?" I joked with realization between a laugh, "what if a piece of shit fell in with a splash and some toilet water got into your mouth?"

Musa rolled around the gym with hysterical laughter, kicking her feet and waving her arms around. Flora just stood there, her face twisting with laughter (though it was obvious she was struggling to hold it in). The other girls who were finishing up the decorations gave us weird looks. Stella's face turned red, but Musa and I didn't give a shit. We just kept laughing like deranged lunatics until our sides started to hurt.

"Okay, okay. We get it. Let's just get on with it," snapped Stella, avoiding all the weird looks we were getting. "Cadey, would you rather be a genius without money or a _fool_ with money?"

"I'd be a stupid-ass with money," I insisted after calming down, "at least then, my intelligence level would classify with the rest of the worlds'. And I would be able to hit up the bar every single night. Nonstop margaritas all freakin' night, baby!"

"Cadey, would you feel worse if no one showed up to your wedding or funeral?" Musa smiled evilly at me.

"Funeral. If they didn't come to my wedding, I'd know it was because they had to work or just didn't give a shit. But if they didn't show up to my funeral, I'd know they _really_ didn't give a shit. Besides, how the fuck would I know if someone came to my funeral or not if I'm dead? My body would already be a lifeless hunk of meat by then." Okay, it was time to hit Flora up again! "Flora, would you prefer it if someone walked in on you having sex or you walked in on one of us having sex?"

"That's it! I'm done playing!" declared Flora, standing up and pressing her lips together.

"Okay, okay! I'll ask you decent questions! I promise!" I reassured, reaching up and grabbing her arm before she could storm out. "Just please don't go!" Flora sighed and sat back down. "Alright, forget that last thing I asked. Would you rather have a fancy house in a poor neighborhood or a shitty house in a rich neighborhood?" I wanted to overwhelm her with more dirty questions, but a promise was a promise.

Flora stared up at the ceiling as if in deep thought. "Hmm….." she mused.

"I'd rather have a fancy house in a poor neighborhood," spoke up Stella, flipping her hair over her shoulder (seriously, though. Does your hair feel THAT good?). "It'd have to be my private home though, because I wouldn't want friends to see what garbage of neighborhood I lived in."

"Not trying to stereotype or anything but poor neighborhoods usually have a lot of crime. And being in a nice house, _you'd_ be the target," considered Musa.

"And if you had a shitty house in a rich neighborhood, you'd have to deal with the spoiled-ass neighbors' criticism and rich-people standards," I threw in, "and since society favors those with money, they could probably get you kicked out or something."

"In that case, I'd have a nice house in a poor neighborhood," decided Flora with a smile, "just because my neighbors might have less money than me wouldn't mean they're criminals. Besides, I could always install a security system just in case." We all seconded our agreements. "Stella, would you rather die before or after your future husband?"

Stella didn't even have to think about Flora's question. "Easy. After. That way, I could find someone else who's probably better," she responded. We all stared at her but didn't say a thing. She'd think otherwise in the future. Trust me. "Okay, Musa. Your go. Would you rather sleep with a stranger or clean Griselda's-"

"Clean Griselda's what?" asked Griselda, suddenly appearing in the doorway. With her clipboard in hand and stern expression, she looked like she could take us all out with one swipe of her claw.

We all startled to our feet. "Uh, nothing! Nothing at all!" laughed Stella nervously, "um, we finished the decorations! How do you like them?"

Griselda narrowed her eyes at us and adjusted her glasses. "They're fine," she said after a moment of an intense staring. "You girls better hurry and help your classmates with the other preparations so you'll be ready for tonight."

"Yes, ma'am!" we all chimed in unison. Immediately after, we all raced past her and into the house, giggling with nervous energy. We'd almost been caught. Somehow, even though she didn't finish her sentence, I kind of knew what Stella was about to say.

I'll give you a hint: it had something to do with what I found in Griselda's room that night of Truth or Dare. Hehehe….

* * *

 **XXX**

I was sneaking through the dark halls of Alfea like a ninja moving stealthy in the shadows. Well, not _exactly_ like that but I w _as_ doing a good job of staying quiet. Night had come and everyone was at the ball. Well, everyone except me and Bloom. At this moment, the redhead should've been coming back from a shopping trip. And meanwhile the Trix were lurking through the hall in search of Stella's ring since Alfea was snubbing their school.

And since I had knowledge our their plans, I was aiming to find them and put an end to their schemes before they found they cursed the magical eggs the Specialists were supposed to be handing out to the girls. _I'm so smart._

I would've gone shopping with Bloom earlier but I got into a bathroom fight with Candi and you already know how that turned out. ANYHOO-

"This is so convenient. There's no one in the hall," said a distant voice. I froze. They were close. Very close. I pressed myself against a wall until I saw a light streak down the corridor, a sign the Trix were using a flashlight to navigate through my school. That and they were about to discover my hiding place.

"Not so fast, witches!" I declared, jumping out of the shadows and pointing straightforward. The girl in front of me startled, nearly dropping her flashlight. My mouth dropped open at the sight of her. She had brown hair, big brown arms, and a book tucked under arm. Okay, she was _not_ the Trix. "Oops! Sorry, I thought you were someone else," I explained quickly, suddenly feeling very foolish.

The girl smiled. "Oh, it's okay. I didn't really want to go to the ball, so I'm trying to find someplace quiet where I can read," said the girl.

"Try the library. No one goes in there regardless, so it should really be abandoned now," I suggested.

"Oh, that's right. I'll head there right now. Thanks a lot!" The girl gave me one more smile before turning around and making course for the library. I sighed in relief and started in the opposite direction. For a second there-

I walked in to straight into something fleshy, causing me to immediately jump back. "Hey! Watch it!" snarled Icy, shining her flashlight in my face. Shit. _Now_ they decided to show up.

"Hey! Isn't that the one who tried fighting us the other day?" hissed Stormy, squinting her eyes at me.

Whoops. Time to work my magic. "Magic Acadia, Wind Power!" I shouted, holding my hand in the air. Within seconds, I was in my glittery fairy form. "Alright! I was going easy on you before but not this time!" I bluffed, getting into position.

"Let's hurry up and get rid of her. We have a job to do," scowled Darcy.

Stormy aimed a magenta lightning bolt at me, but I dodged just in time. "Wondrous Wind!" I shouted, aiming my signature blue spell at Icy.

"Shard Shield." A shield made of icicles appeared before Icy, absorbing my spell. "Ha. You're _still_ weak," she taunted as her shield cracked and exploded into snowflakes.

Okay, it was time to try again. "Wondrous Wind!" I threw my most powerful attack at her _again._

The witch simply ducked and the spell sailed overhead. Shit. "C'mon, sisters. Let's go ahead and finish her," announced Icy. Darcy and Stormy appeared at her side and they all glowed with magic.

Oh SHIT.

"Storm of Illusions and Ice!" they all shouted, outstretching their hands at me. Pure dark energy emerged from them and I turned to run. But just as I was about to proceed down the hallway, I felt the spell hit me in the back with the force of a Mack truck.

And then, everything went dark.

* * *

 **XXX**

When I awoke, I was laying on the ground in the same spot I fell in. "Shit!" I cursed, managing to rise to my feet. The taste of blood was strong inside my mouth, but I was too worried to notice it.

Thankfully, my wings weren't damaged so I was able to make them to lift me off my feet. Swearing under my breath, I flittered down the hall all the way to the gym. "Guys!" I blurted, flying into the room. Though my whole body was aching like hell, I chose to ignore that also.

My classmates and the Specialists were too busy socializing to notice me, but I luckily spotted my friends in the corner by the punch bowl. "Yo! Guys!" I called, flying over and landing beside Bloom. From the looks of her dress, I could already tell the Trix were long gone.

"Acadia! Where have you been? Why are you bleeding?" cried out Flora in alarm, eyeing my arm.

"I ran into the Trix," I said simply, "they knocked me out."

"Well, you don't have to worry about them anymore. We fooled them into leaving Alfea," said Stella with an arrogant snort, not really looking that concerned for me.

"And I finally transformed!" enthused Bloom.

I nodded slowly, my brain taking it all in. It looked like everything worked out just fine without my help. Maybe interfering with the story plot wasn't such a good idea after all….


	8. Cassiopeia Fourth Star

Ah, nature.

The only place where flat-screen TVs and ordering pizza simply wasn't an option.

And here I was, standing in the middle of nowhere in a safari-girl outfit with no way to watch the latest episode of _Game of Thrones_ (even though that show didn't even exist in this universe) or pick up a decent Wi-Fi signal.

I wasn't the only one unhappy with the day's newest assignment; the other girls (specifically Candi and Stella) were complaining about each and every little thing. I was surprised Palladium didn't chuck a brick at them already.

"Today's lesson will be rather challenging," began the Legolas rip-off, pacing back and forth. "You will be-"

"Professor, a mosquito just bit me!" shrieked a brunette, interrupting the teacher's instruction.

"May I remind you, this _is_ a forest," pointed out Palladium, sweatdropping. "A little mosquito bite is nothing to worry about, trust me."

"But look where it got me." The brunette pouted and pulled up her right pant leg, revealing a portion of her blue panties and a pointy red bump beside them. The other girls giggled as Palladium turned crimson at the sight of her undergarment.

"Oh…er…oh my," was all he could manage.

"Yes, Professor! I got bit, too!" whined Candi, obviously struggling to hold back a laugh. She unzipped her beige jacket just enough to expose the upper part of her breast. Sure enough, a red zit similar to the other girl's was attached to her skin. How the fuck did that even happen?

"I believe that is called sexual harassment," stated Tecna openly and kind of loudly.

The other girls laughed even harder and Palladium turned away. "Uh, as I was saying!" he declared shakily, holding his chin high and going back to his pacing as if trying not to stare.

"Poor professor. They sure do like giving him a hard time," frowned Bloom disapprovingly. We along with the rest of the Winx were standing behind our classmates, wondering why the professor had dragged us all the way out into some random forest. I had no clue what was going on because I hadn't watched the episode, if it even had one.

Stella shrugged. "Eh, he deserves this. If he were more confident, he'd earn more respect," she yawned, observing her orange nails.

"A good fairy must always stay linked with nature," explained Palladium, his chestnut hair gleaming in the sun as he walked this way and that. "Today's assignment is going to put your skills to the test. Now, you've all been grouped so-"

"Is this one of those stupid nature-survival challenges?" I blurted.

"You have three hours to find your way out of Black Mud Swamp and reach the clearing in the middle of Gloomy Wood Forest _without_ using magic," continued Palladium, ignoring me. "Remember: listen closely to nature's voice and follow her advice." And with that, he disappeared with tiny sparkles flashing in his stead.

"Well, we're going to die," sighed Stella, playing with her green necktie. "And I never got to experience my first time, either."

"Shut up and walk," I grumbled, pushing her forward. We separated ourselves from the other girls, disappearing into a thick mass of bushes. "Ya know, it's not safe for us to be out here on our own like this," I whispered dramatically and mischievously.

"Huh? Why not?" asked Flora, concern spreading across her face as Stella swatted a mosquito against her arm.

"Sexual predators are known to linger in woods like this," I informed with a devilishly giggle, tickling her backside creepily. "They hide in the shadows, just waiting to pounce on innocent young women hopelessly dwelling around their domain."

Flora squeaked and her legs started to tremble. "I-I hope no one like that's out here," she stammered.

"Oh, don't worry about it. If someone _does_ decide to leap out at us, I'll kick their ass," assured Musa, karate-kicking the air.

"HELLO, NEWCOMERS!" exclaimed Creep, suddenly jumping out of the bushes at us.

"EEK!" yelped Flora, Bloom, and Stella, huddling together in some sort of cowering formation.

"Hey, dude," I yawned, giving Creep a tiny wave as he landed on the ground on all-four like a cat ready to leap on a scrambling mouse. To be honest, he looked really retarded but I wasn't going to complain.

"You know this primitive life form?" asked Tecna, raising an eyebrow and putting her hands on her hips. She and Musa didn't look one bit frightened. In fact, Musa looked seconds away from karate-chopping his ass.

"Yeah. This is the pervert that lives near Alfea," I explained dully, "he hangs out in the woods a lot."

"Yeah but what is he doing _here_?" Musa crossed her arms and knitted her eyebrows at Creep.

"I'm just checking up on you girlies," responded Creep in a creepy giggle, rising to his feet and adjusting his hat so it was crooked once again.

"Uh, you should probably fuck off before you get caught or something," I suggested, rolling my eyes at trembling Stella, Bloom, and Flora. "The professor could be watching us."

"Aye. I have others to visit," giggled Creep, his eyes gleaming like crystals behind his hair. "I'll come back later. Call if you need anything." And he disappeared back into the bushes.

"C'mon! Let's go before he comes back," urged Flora, grabbing Bloom's and Stella's arms and pulling them forward.

"You know a lot of mentally disturbed people," Stella frowned at me over her shoulder as we pressed forward.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

We were about to start arguing if it hadn't been for the thick, muddy swamp in our path. Seeing the damned thing went on for miles meaning we couldn't walk around, we proceeded into it. The bubbly, marshy water went up past our knees, making Stella scowl.

"Ew! This place is so… _yucky_!" she hissed, shuddering and swatted another pesky bug.

"Oh yes, dear. All this mud is so very inconvenient," joked Musa in a spoiled-royal voice, holding her chin high.

Flora and Bloom laughed but Tecna shook her head. "I don't know if you girls have noticed yet, but we're knee-deep in what I'd call a problematic mud puddle. You guys can take cover. I'll handle it." She raised her glowing hands, but Bloom stopped her just in time.

"No! Remember what the professor said. We have to listen to nature," she reminded, making Stella groan aloud. She sniffed the air cautiously. "Do you guys smell that?"

"You mean Stella's trashy perfume? Yeah, I smell it," I joked rudely.

The princess growled at me. "That's not me!" she insisted, stomping her foot in the mud.

Musa inhaled deeply. "That smells like… _gas_!" she exclaim-panicked. "Let's get out of here!"

"I told you that wasn't me!" snapped Stella, shoving me in the back as we hurried out of the swamp.

Once we were safely sheltered behind some bushes, Bloom picked up a small but thick (just like my auntie's thighs!) branch and chucked it at one of the bubbles in the swamp. We all cringed as it popped, releasing a foul-smelling gray gas.

"One more step and we would've been fucked," I muttered as the other gas bubbles popped, filling the air with their potent odor.

"Yes, we took a big risk." Flora nodded worriedly.

"Especially you, Tecna. I would've sent you my dress maker's bill," said Stella, flipping her hair over her shoulder. I couldn't tell if she was joking or dead serious, but everyone excluding Tecna laughed anyway.

"Now, let's hurry up and find the clearing before our time's up," urged Musa, standing up. "Who knows what'll happen to us if we fail. We might end up in this forest _forever_!"

* * *

 **XXX**

Lettme tell you.

I've seen some shit in my day but you haven't witnessed anything until you've seen a couple-dozen-ton aircraft falling out of the sky. The Winx, me, and our other classmates just stood there with our mouths hanging open as we watched the _floating,_ smoking aircraft drop out of the sky and disappear over the trees. Eventually, we heard a loud _thump_ and everyone started panicking.

"That looked like a Red Fountain airship!" gasped Bloom.

"Let's go see!" exclaimed Stella as we all charged across a small, marshy pond. "They might need our help!"

After a few moments of forcing our way through fucked-up swamp grass, we came across the air vehicle in the middle of the pond. It was covered in the swampy goo and looked extremely damaged. But thankfully (to an extent), Sky, Timmy, Brandon, and Riven were safe. I was kind of startled to see them because I hadn't expected them to make an appearance so early.

"Are you three alright?" asked Flora with concern, approaching them. "Do you have any wounds or-"

"Yesh, don't you have eyes?" insulted Riven, scowling at her. "We're fine. Isn't it obvious?"

And it was at that moment, I knew I was going to hate Riven. "Well, it sure doesn't look that way, idiot!" I snapped, gesturing towards a tear in his uniform. Blood was gushing out of the wound, soaking the fabric around it. I happened to notice Musa was blushing and staring at him, but Riven obviously didn't give a fuck.

"We're all fine, ladies. Thanks for asking," winked Brandon—whom I forgot was calling himself "Prince Sky"—looking around. He gasped and cringed, noticing the big footprints in the mud and the giant escape whole in the ship at the same time I was. "Oh no," he groaned, "where's the troll?"

"He's escaped!" hissed Sky—who was "Brandon" at the moment—frowning deeply.

"A troll?!" the rest of us yelped in unison.

"You guys were transporting a troll and you _let_ him escape?" asked Tecna, expressionless.

"Yeah! Aren't you idiots supposed to be on top of this?" I added, glaring death at Riven.

"We didn't _let_ anyone escape," the magenta-haired guy spat. He folded his arms across his chest. "There was an accident. We lost altitude and-"

"Mechanical failure," clarified Timmy, adjusting his glances.

"Anyhow, there's nothing to worry about. He's handcuffed," assured Riven arrogantly.

"Um…not anymore," spoke up Brandon, holding up a pair of giant handcuffs that were dripping with slim.

"Oh no!" The rest of our classmates began to panic again.

"So a troll's on the loose, huh? It's probably for Stella so they can mate or something since they're both obviously trolls," commented Candi, flipping her black hair over her shoulder.

Seriously? Would that fucker ever shut up?

"What are you girls doing here anyway?" asked Sky, stopping me from throwing an insult back at Candi.

"We're in the middle of an assignment," replied Bloom, looking down at the swampy water so Sky wouldn't see her blush.

 _Duh._ That could be the only possible explanation. What bunch of stupid-ass girls wandered around a funky-ass swamp in the heat of day without a reason?

"Well, you can get back to your little assignment and don't worry about a thing. Leave it to the Specialists," said Riven arrogantly, pounding on his chest.

"The Specialists are coming?" gasped Stella, mocking surprise. "When?"

Riven gritted his teeth and growled. "We're right here, dumbass!" he snapped.

Oh _hell_ no. "Who are you calling a dumbass, _dumbass_?" I countered, stomping over to him.

"What Riven is saying is that you girls should probably get back to Alfea while we deal with the animal," clarified Brandon, resting a hand on Riven's shoulder.

"We don't need your editorial comments, _Your Highness_ ," Riven growled at Brandon.

HAHAHA, _no._ "What are you talking about? Brandon isn't a prince!" I dared to snap at Riven, grinning evilly. That shit wasn't going to work on me. The Specialists looked startled and the girls a little confused, but Amaryl broke the silence.

"And we don't need any help from you! We can deal with this ourselves," she jeered at Riven, stepping forward.

"You do what you gotta do, but don't ever say we didn't warn you. C'mon, guys. Let's get to work. We got a troll to recapture," barked Riven, starting back for the wreck of a ship.

While the Winx discussed whether we should help them or not, I charged after the boys. Right as I was reaching out to grab Riven's cape, I fell face-flat into the swamp.

And then there was darkness.

* * *

 **XXX**

" _Awaken, Guardian of the Wind."_

When I awoke, all I saw was twinkling stars and endless space. "What the fluff!?" I swore, quickly rising to my feet. I nearly tripped over the long white skirts I was now wearing. I lost my footing and landed in a pile of white daisies that were conveniently placed under my feet. With bulging eyes, I looked around at my surroundings. I was in some kind of circular Greek temple that was surrounded by vast space and stars.

"What is this?" I muttered, daring to stand up again. Barefoot, I slowly walked across the marble floor and over to one of the columns. Since the temple didn't have any walls, it was almost like I could simply reach out and touch the stars on the other side of the columns. Like I could almost touch space-

The second I held out my hand, my fingers came in contact with an invisible barrier which rippled like water due to my touch.

" _The temple is protected by a force field,"_ announced a familiar voice. _"Its purpose is to keep the beings within it breathing, since the vacuums of space lack oxygen."_

I whirled around to see the three Ethereal Fairies flittering a few feet in front of me. "You guys again?!" I gasped, "where am I this time?" Usually, they only spoke to me through visions and dreams. But this time…they somehow _psychically_ transported me someplace else. At least I think they did.

" _You are in the temple of Cassiopeia Fourth Star_ ," explained the blue Ethereal Fairy, flying over to me.

I looked up at her. "The _what now_?"

" _The Cassiopeia Fourth Star. The fourth star temple of the constellation Cassiopeia_ ," went on the blue Ethereal Fairy.

"A star temple? What's that?" I asked, knitting my eyebrows. Seriously, these chicks were confusing.

" _The star temples are the celestial structures of all the universes and dimensions. They are all linked to each and every universe and realm in existence,_ " spoke up the orange Ethereal Fairy, " _even the Earth you come from, the 'Real World' as you call it and its solar system are even linked to these grounds."_

Oh c'mon. Yet another thing I didn't know about. Magix was just full of secrets.

"So why am I here?" I asked kind of impatiently.

The three fairies' faces went grim. " _Something is threatening the existence of the celestial star temples,"_ explained the green Ethereal Fairy, _"her evil is corrupting them one by one. And because of her dark powers, the temples are in jeopardy of crumbling out of existence. And without them, magic cannot exist."_

"Uh, _what_?"

" _Magix and the other universes are in danger. If she continues to manipulate the celestial temples, the only ones with magic will be her and her evil forces."_ Green Ethereal Fairy frowned deeply.

" _She must be defeated by all means. But alas, no one is yet powerful enough to destroy her. Many have tried, but all have failed,"_ continued Orange Ethereal Fairy, " _though, you and your fellow friends—the Winx—will soon be capable of doing what they could not."_

"Who is 'her'?" I asked, my mind racing. "And where is she? Nothing's wrong back in Magix."

" _For now. But once she discovers the dimension, she will no doubt seize its power. That is why you must take these."_ The orange fairy glowed with magic and small square-ish crystals appeared in midair before her.

"What are they?" I managed to ask, overtaken by their shiny beauty.

" _Stones of pure energy. And they belong to you and your friends_ ," explained Green Ethereal Fairy, _"we humbly give them to you as-"_

The temple suddenly shook, causing me to stagger backwards. "What's happening? Earthquakes are supposed to happen in space," I snapped.

"The dark empress! _She's here. We don't have time_!" exclaimed Blue Ethereal Fairy. The crystals disappeared back to wherever they came from, and I started to feel dizzy. _"We must send you back before she discovers you."_

Quickly losing consciousness, I staggered around until I fell helplessly to the ground. And as much as I tried to stop them, my eyelids began to close and my vision to blur.

But right before I fell out for good, I saw something form on the edge of the temple.

She had carrot-red hair, deep blue eyes, and wore an unusual arrogant smile. But instead of being filled with love and compassion like they usually were, they were fueled with lust and thrust for power.

"Bloom," I muttered.

And then there was more blackness.


	9. Period Talk and an Instrusion

**Author's Note: YAYZZZ! MORE story alerts! I'm so happy! I already have 17 story follows from just 8 chapters! That's never happened to me before! I think I'll have 20 before I reach chapter 10! I'm so excited!**

 **There are so many different versions of Winx Club, I just wanna punch someone.**

* * *

When I awoke, I found myself in my dorm room bed with a memory as empty as beer cans after a football game.

"Shit. What happened?" I groaned, sitting up and swinging my legs over my bed. I rested my bare feet on the floor and tried to remember why I had been knocked out. The only things I could remember were Riven and a murky swamp. I was going over to fight him…And then everything went back. What happened afterwards was unknown as the number of boob jobs the Kardashian Sisters had (and how much they cost).

Dammit. Did I get into a bottle of tequila again? Was what I was experiencing just a bad hangover? No, that was impossible. I didn't remember stashing any alcohol in my bag before we left for the swamp. No, this was from something else…

I jumped up to my feet. Well, all of that didn't really matter now. As long as I was up and breathing, everything was fine. Correction: it _would_ be. First, I had to get some grub. I was hungry as a hostage.

Not bothering to put any shoes on, I wandered out of the room and into the crowded hall. Where was this kitchen in this place anyways? Griselda had given all the students maps of Alfea at the beginning of the year, but I think I threw mine away or something.

As I proceeded down a wing, I looked at the window. The sky was gray with thick dark clouds, meaning a storm was coming. But why?

"…a dazzling light appeared…"

I paused in the middle of the hallway at the sound of Ms. Faragonda's voice, noticing I was right outside her office.

"It was the Great Dragon," her faint voice explained. My heart skipped a beat. She was telling Bloom the story of the Great Dragon and its Flame. Taking advantage of the fact I was now the only girl in the corridor, I pressed myself against the wall beside Faragonda's closed door so I could eavesdrop.

"And with his fiery breath, he created countless worlds and universes," went on Faragonda's voice on the other side, "he spread love, light, and heat across the universe. His power was truly magnificent." I allowed myself to slide into a sitting position as Faragonda went on with the story. "Eventually, the Dragon grew tired and chose to rest in a place called Domino."

"But according to Stella, Domino's an unfriendly, cold, harsh wasteland," pointed out Bloom's soft voice.

"Now it is. But it wasn't always that way. It used to be happy and prosperous until dark forces came and put out the Dragon's Flame once and for all."

And that would be the handy work of Valtor and his mothers, the Three Ancestral Witches. I narrowed my eyes. That sick bastard was still frozen solid in the Omega Dimension, waiting to be freed by the equally as sick Trix sisters. I clenched a fist. But now that I was in Magix, I could stop that from happening. I could destroy Valtor and his block of ice before the Trix or anybody had the chance to find him. But first, I had to get stronger.

"Tell me Bloom. Why are you suddenly so interested in the Dragon?" Faragonda was asking Bloom when I shook out of my thoughts.

Well, that meant it was time for me to make like a banana and split. This conversation was over. Shoving my hands into my hoodie's pockets, I casually started back down the hall like nothing happened.

* * *

"GUYS!" I exploded, barging into Stella's room. I was immediately greeted by the smell of lavender and plotting. All faces turned to me welcomed myself into the room.

"Acadia!" Bloom and Musa threw themselves at me. "You've been asleep for about a week," informed Bloom as Musa squeezed me half to death. "We were worried sick."

"Yeah, yeah. I missed you guys, too. Now, when are we going to Cloud Tower?" I asked quickly, sitting down on the floor beside the door. There was sudden silence, the sounds being the rain pitter-patting on the window.

"How'd you know about that?" asked Stella, raising an eyebrow at me. "Were you eavesdropping again?"

"They took your wing, didn't they?" I yawned. "And you want it back." Man, sometimes I felt like a goddess in this universe. I knew everything before it happened, meaning it was up to me whether to change them or not.

Flora's face twisted in confusion. "But how'd you know? You weren't there when Icy took Stella's ring."

"Doll, I know everything," I insisted, puffing out my chest. That was a lie straight from the pit, but hey! Who gave a fuck?

"Alright, but you need to be quiet about this," advised Tecna, observing me closer. "We all know how much of a big mouth you have-"

"Hey! You should be telling that to Goldilocks over there!" I snapped, pointing at Stella.

"Okay, okay! There's no need to argue," interrupted Flora, smiling sweetly. "We need to work as a team if we want to complete this mission successfully. And that means being on the same page." Stella and I murmured our agreements.

"So here's the plan: when everyone goes to sleep later on tonight, we use the tunnels underneath Alfea to sneak into Cloud Tower," Bloom told me quickly. Of course, I already knew that but I didn't say so.

"What do we do until then?" asked Musa, looking up at Stella's wall clock. "We still have another hour and a half until we can leave."

Stella shrugged. "I hate waiting. It's so _boring._ That being said, let's play a little game."

"I'm not killing anybody!" blurted Flora randomly, causing all of us to turn and stare at her.

"I wasn't going to ask you to." Stella, who was seated on the floor, rolled her eyes at Flora's innocence. She rubbed her hands devilishly. "I was talking about a little game of truth or dare."

"I'm not playing that," I glowered, "thanks to one of you guys, specifically _STELLA,_ I'm gonna end up getting expelled."

"Oh, c'mon! I promise I won't get _too_ crazy," giggled Stella, twirling some blond hair around her finger.

"No way."

"But what are we supposed to do for the next hour and a half?" Stella pouted, sticking out her bottom lip childishly. "Sit around here and do nothing?" There was silence.

"Fine, fine. But if this goes wrong…" I trailed off warningly. Usually, I would be all up for a juicy game of truth or dare. But tonight…I just felt uneasy. I wasn't nervous about my first trip to Cloud Tower. Something else was bugging me. Something…important. But nevertheless, I stayed quiet as we all formed a circle. This time, Flora made sure she wedged between Bloom and Tecna instead of me, Musa, or Stella.

"Okay, so let's begin," announced Stella with a small giggle. "Musa, truth or dare?"

"I'll go with truth. For now." Musa grinned evilly.

"What's the worst rumor you've ever repeated?" questioned Stella, her eyes glowing with curiosity. "That ultimately turned out to be wrong."

Musa didn't even have to think about that one. "Well, in middle school, there was this rumor going on about this eighth-grader who got pregnant the night of a school dance…"

" _Ooh_!" the rest of us went.

"One of my friends was sick the week the rumor started so when she came back, I told her everything. _But_ it wasn't because I believed it. Everyone was talking about it, and my friend was super confused so I only enlightened her. Cadey, truth or dare?"

"Huh?" I shook out of my thoughts. "Oh, uh, truth." I wasn't really paying attention to the game. For some odd reason, I was just…feeling creeped out.

"What's the wildest thing you've done with a guy?"

I gagged at the question. "Well, there's this white-trash family across the street back at home," I started with disgust, "I accidentally threw my dad's expensive watch into their yard and I had to wrestle one of them for it."

Stella snorted. "If someone _dared_ attack me, my bodyguards would take them down in two seconds."

"Well, not all of us have that option. Where I come from, if you want something, you gotta fight for it. That goes double for me, considering I have six siblings." I yawned despite the fact I'd been in an enchanted sleep for who knew how long.

Stella gasped. "Six siblings? You poor thing."

"Yeah, yeah. Spare me the memories. Anyways, truth or dare, Bloom?"

"Truth."

"What's the worst decision you've ever made?"

Bloom winced, making all of us sequel. "Well, when I was in middle school-" It's _always_ middle school. "-I decided to go to this teen party with my friends. The whole place smelt like smoke and alcohol and some creep even tried to offer me some beer."

"I would've taken it," I snorted.

"Why, so you would end up like _you_?" countered Stella with a mean laugh.

"Shut up."

"Flores, truth or dare?" Bloom asked Flora, ignoring me and Stella as we bickered.

"You can never go wrong with truth."

"Okay then. Have you ever peed in a pool?"

"Nope. I didn't really care for swimming as a kid anyway. Tecna, truth or dare?"

"Truth of course."

"Have you ever been out with a bra on?" giggled Flora.

Stella and I gave her an eye roll. When it came to Flora, that was about the dirtiest she would ever get. "Negative. I always have one on. Even when I sleep," answered Tecna effortlessly. "Wait. Is that weird?"

"No. I do it, too," giggled Flora, "just in case."

"Just in case what?" I asked, glancing at her.

"Just in case I wake up and something happens. I won't have time to put one on, so I just wear one at all times," answered Flora with a smile.

Usually, I would've made a rude comment but that didn't happen. Instead, I smiled. "Good for you," I said. And I meant it.

* * *

 _ **Again, Somewhere Beyond the Reader's Knowledge**_

 _Stormy giggled and sighed hopefully at the Eye. Inside the crystal ball was a live capture of Other-Universe Winx, laughing and joking around with each other in a bedroom. What Stormy would give to experience such happy times again. She couldn't remember the last time Darcy or Icy laughed. Or anyone for that matter._

 _Knowing such uses of magic items could get them caught, Stormy turned off the device and looked up at the ceiling. Above it was the surface. The world. Sometimes, Stormy yearned to be up there. She yearned for friends and happiness. But that was simply impossible. The world was no longer filled with the light and hope it used to have. Instead, darkness, injustice, and corruption ruled all of the worlds. No matter how much the hopeful fought against it, the evil couldn't be erased. Like always, it remained. And got stronger._

 _At this rate, the darkness would spread throughout_ _ **all**_ _universes and dimensions. Not even one corner would be missed. The Dark Empress's power was_ _ **that**_ _flawless._

 _But there_ _ **was**_ _hope. As long as there was a dimension out there that was filled with light, salvation was possible. But until then, there was nothing anyone could do against Dark Empress Bloom._

" _I'm telling you, we should use this to our advantage," argued Gantlos' muffled yet gruff voice from the next room over. "They won't see us coming."_

" _I disagree. The empress has eyes and ears all over Magix. We need to remain where we are for time being. How many times have we rebelled against her and lost? How many battles have we lost, Gantlos?"_

" _Fighting beats standing around doing nothing!" shot back Gantlos, his voice rising._

" _I'm with Gantlos on this one. Staying underground isn't going to solve anything," hissed Icy's chilly voice. "We_ _ **need**_ _to act. We're wasting our time and lives hiding from that harpy! So what if she's stronger than us? If we die while fighting her, that'll be far better than living in this world!"_

" _Sister, you can't say things like that? What about Stormy?" reasoned Darcy's voice. At the mention of her name, Stormy slid her chair over to the wall so she could hear the conversation better. "She's the weakest out of us all. She's our little sister! We can't just make unwise decisions and risk losing her…"_

 _Stormy clenched a fist and her eyes welled up with tears. So THAT was how they saw her. The weakest. The typical little sister. That wasn't fair!_

" _Enough. Until things look up,_ _ **none**_ _of you will leave base," spoke up Valtor, making everyone go silent. "And that is an order."_

 _Even from the other room, Stormy could feel the glares Icy and Gantlos were giving their leader. Things weren't any different from what they had been since Bloom first took over. Everyone was always split on their next move. No one knew what to do. No one could agree._

 _That was why they needed help. Because of they didn't get it, not only would their family fall apart, but the very dimension as well._

* * *

Hey, guys. Check this out," I giggled evilly, digging through of the bureaus. I held up a pack of feminine sanitary napkins. And it was open. "Someone's on their period," I chuckled in a sharp whisper, waving the bag around in the air. The Winx and I had successfully taken the tunnels leading into Cloud Tower and had managed to find the Trix's room. Now, we were just going through their personal belongings for Stella's ring. Of course, having already watched the episode, I already knew where the wing was but I wasn't going to reveal it to the others.

It was best they found it themselves. That and I also wanted some extra time to go through the Trix's stuff.

" Ew! Put that down! Don't you know if you come in contact with a girl who's on her period, you'll get yours too?" snapped Stella, putting her hands on her hips.

"Is that really true?" gasped Flora, suddenly turning bright red. "I-I didn't know that."

"That's completely illogical. Every girl gets her period when it's her own time of the month," said Tecna, shaking her head at Stella's ignorance as the rest of us searched the room. Because the Trix and Knut were gone, we were _totally_ taking advantage of the situation. "You can't just contract a period like it's some kind of disease."

"Yeah. In that case, we'd all have our periods from touching Flora," piped up Musa with a giggle.

Flora turned even redder. "Wh-what are you talking about?"

"Oh, c'mon, Flora! It's obvious! You literally went to the bathroom every hour. And unless you had the runs, you were obviously going there to change your pad," pointed out Musa, side-leaning on the wall.

"You don't' use tampons?" I ask-teased, stuffing the bag of pads back into the drawer.

Flora blushed. "I-I don't feel comfortable putting aything 'down there'."

"You _do_ know they won't take your virginity, right?" asked Musa, the corner of her mouth curling up into a smile.

"I don't use tampons either," admitted Stella, crossing her arms and holding her chin high with a snort. "I bet those things aren't comfortable. How do you insert them anyway? You just slide it in or what?"

I shrugged as I moved on to the next drawer. "I dunno. I don't use them either. But I _did_ see a wikiHow page on how to. And there _was_ this one time I tried using one and my brother walked in right when I was about to stick it in my-"

"Guys! We're here to find Stella's ring, not to discuss experiences with periods," interrupted Bloom seriously, frowning at us disapprovingly.

"More like hardships," muttered Stella.

"Unfortunately," murmured Tecna.

"Here here," grumbled Musa.

"I hear you, sister," I snorted, "and Bloom, what the fluff are you talking about? You literally have done _nothing_ but stand there."

"What? I'm supervising!"

"Hey, girls. Check this out," I snickered, holding up a ragdoll that had a lot of pins and nails stuck in its backside. "I didn't know the Trix specialized in voodoo."

"Well, they _are_ witches," reminded Stella, opening a bottle of perfume she found atop a nightstand. She took one whiff of it and hissed. "Yuck. No wonder you can smell those witches a mile away. That stuff smells like armpits."

I gasp-squeaked the second I pulled open the bottom drawer. " _Dudes!_ The Trix have _condoms_!" I whispered fiercely, holding up a package. "And they're extra-large for _males._ " Musa choked on nothing, Flora looked about ready to faint, Tecna gagged, and Bloom just facepalmed. "One of the Trix are getting it on with a guy who's super-long down there!" I exclaimed, noticing the box was opened.

"That or those belong to Knut," considered Stella aloud.

Everyone exchanged glances. " _Ewwwww!_ " we all shrieked.

Man, I literally find the _grossest_ stuff whenever I decide to go snooping through someone else's stuff. "Uh, let's get back to the task at hand!" I suggested quickly, returning the box to its place in the drawer. "But honestly, can you imagine _anyone_ having 'it' with a beast like Knut?" I wondered aloud, eyeing the closet with curious temptation. I wanted to go int here and see what other freaky stuff the Trix kept, but something told me that wasn't such a good idea.

"Yeah, I know," giggled Stella, getting on all four and sticking her butt out. "Do they do it like this or…" She then laid down on the floor on her back and spread her legs apart so much, we could see her green panties. "…or like _this_?"

"Honestly, I think Knut's far too big to fit in between _any_ girl's legs," implied Musa thoughtfully.

"Guys! Enough!" blurted Flora, looking overwhelmingly embarrassed and uncomfortable. "We have a _mission_ , remember? We have to hurry before the Trix come back."

"Everyone, look at this!" hissed Musa, pointing at something on the wall. We all gathered around to see she was pointing at some kind of crest mounted high beside a desk. "Watch this," directed Musa, holding her finger in front of it. She slowly moved it to the right and the creepy eye followed her motion, its eyeball rolling to the right as well.

"Super creepy," shuddered Bloom.

"The Trix are typical witches. And speaking of the Trix, where _are_ they?" mentioned Stella, running her fingers across the spines of the books on the shelf.

"Maybe they had a party," suggested Flora, eyeing a disgusting glob of brown stuff against the wall. "It sure looks like it."

"Well, if that _is_ the case, I'm glad they didn't invite me," scowled Stella, bending down beside the brown pile. "What's _this_ junk?"

"I think that might be Knut's test," assumed Musa as we all dared to get closer to the blob of shit.

"Highly unlikely. Ogres don't make tests," insisted Tecna logically, frowning with disgust. "But considering how revolting Knut is…"

"Hey! Look at that!" exclaimed Bloom, pointing at the gleaming object atop the glob.

"My ring!" squealed Stella, reaching out and gently picking up the heirloom. "Aw, come here, little one. Did you miss me?" She giggled, sliding it on her finger.

"Alright. Now since Stella has her ring back, let's bail before the Trix get back," urged Musa, following Tecna over to the door.

The shit was about to get real starting now. I just stood back and watched as Tecna tried to force the secret entrance open. "I believe there might be a lock or safety mechanism," she frowned, stepping back after her failed attempts to pull the door open.

"Maybe there's another way out…." hesitated Bloom slowly, starting for the old-as-Bill-Clinton-looking door on the opposite side of the wall. "There's something behind this door," she decided, "and it's not the way out. It's something completely different."

"This is not the time to be listening to your sixth sense. We need to go _now_ ," argued Tecna.

"Just give me a minute. This could be important," insisted Bloom, grasping the iron handle and pushing the door open.

And just like in the episode, the door led us into an archive. While the others gasped and marveled, I just yawned. Been there, done that.

"Look at all these books. Maybe they say something important," breathed Bloom, reaching out to grab a book.

That's when _my_ sixth sense kicked Bloom made contact with that book, Headmistress Griffin would find us and report us to Ms. Faragonda! I was about to stop Bloom for making the mistake but I froze. If I didn't let this happen, Bloom would never have her first encounter with Daphne and that was something I didn't want to prevent. Such a decision wouldn't be pair to Bloom or her ghostly older sister.

That being said, I pressed my lips together and let Bloom pull the giant tome off the bookshelf. She it on a stone podium and opened it. Instantly, golden rays of magic emerged from the pages and shone in our faces.

"Wow. That was magical," exhaled an easily impressed Bloom once all the light faded.

Indeed it was. In fact, so magical that it was alerting Griffin just about now. She was most likely already spying at us through her crystal ball.

"I wonder what other kind of stuff is in here," said Flora, getting on her knees so she could read the spines of the books on the lower shelves. "This one's about a fairy named Carla."

"And this one's about a witch called Abigail, which gives me the creeps," shuddered Musa, putting down the book she had picked up.

"There must be a book on every fairy and witch that ever existed," realized Bloom, her eyes twinkling. "That's so cool."

" _Cool_? Does it not creep you out that Cloud Tower somehow has personal intel on _everyone_?" I snapped, putting my hands on my hips. Background checks, criminal records, copies of birth certificates, you name it, they got it!"

"Guys, I think we need to get out of here," repeated Tecna, looking a little too anxious.

"Just give me one more minute?" pleaded Bloom, "maybe there's a book in here about me. If I find it, I could find out more about myself and my powers."

That sparked an idea in my head. Perhaps she did have a point. Like Bloom (at the moment), I didn't know anything about my origins here on Magix either. If I even had one. Maybe the Ethereal Fairies just gifted these powers to me. Maybe they didn't have a true origin like everyone else's.

"EEK!"

Bloom's freakishly girly scream woke me up from my daydreams. I hurried around the corner to see Bloom screaming at a laughing book on a table. Dang it! I was so unfocused, I hadn't even noticed she found the book with her name.

"The book! What's wrong with it?" she cried out.

That, my friend, was the work of the headmistress playing with us. "Um, I think we should get out of here now!" exclaimed Musa, grabbing Bloom's shoulder.

"This way, everyone!" called Stella, pointing at the stone door in the front of the room. While the other rushed over to it, I didn't bother. Why? It was just going to disappear.

And just as the other made it over, the door completely disappeared. What did I tell you?

"Woah! The door…it's _gone_!" exclaimed Tecna, feeling the wall where the door used to be. "I don't wanna sound like a pessimist but um, I think we're in trouble?"

"We've got to find a solution and right away!" said Bloom determinedly, looking around as if in search for a fire exit or something.

Tecna stepped back with her hands clasp together and her index fingers pointed straight at the wall. She gathered energy to the tips of her fingers. "Let's try a little... Tecna power!" she exclaimed, shooting a green beam at the wall.

The door just emitted smoke but nothing else happened. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that _failed_ ," I snorted, suing my wind power to clear out the smoke.

"Not even a scratch." Stella shook her head.

"Now what?" asked Musa thinly.

"Power convergence," replied Tecna simply, "it's obviously the only solution."

"Then why didn't you say something before?" I asked dully.

"Tecna's right! Let's just transform!" directed Bloom confidently.

We all gathered around in a circle. "Magic Winx!" we shouted. Instantly, we were in our sparkly and glittery winged forms.

"Everybody ready? All together!" encouraged Bloom. We all lined up in front of the wall, gathering energy in our hands. "Now!" shouted Bloom. We all blasted the wall together, creating a huge hole.

"I don't know about you girls, but I'm getting my ass out of this freak show!" I assured, running out into the wall. As much as I'd seen Cloud Tower on TV, the actual place was creepy as my granny's saggy skin.

The six of us sprinted down the hall, which appeared to be endless. "There doesn't seem to be a way out of this place!" exclaimed Flora when we stopped to catch our breath.

Tecna looked around observantly. "We've never been through this tunnel before, it's not the one we came from," she stated.

"How can you tell? They all look the same!" complained Stella.

"I've a photographic memory, I notice details."

"Please guys, tell me we're not completely lost!" begged Bloom, looking somewhat panicked.

"Um..."

"Mmmmm…."

"At least we're together," said Flora, forcing a smile.

"In that case, we're screwed," I threw in.

"I am _so_ gonna miss my hair appointment tomorrow," complained Stella.

And right on time, small clattering footsteps echoed through the hall. We gasped (even though I already knew this would happen, how can one _not_ get freaked out?) Giant spiders suddenly came crawling towards us from both ways.

"Giant spiders!" shrieked Musa as we huddled together.

"They're everywhere!" added Bloom.

"My horoscope was right!" whined Stella, "Giant spiders _are_ going to tear me apart limb from limb!"

"Okay, what's the plan now?" panicked Musa as the spiders closed in on us. "I-I mean... these things don't look too friendly!" Those little fuckers were all on the ceiling and walls, completely trapping us.

"We have to create a protective shield like a force field," answered Bloom quickly. We all kneeled on one knee and created a giant blue shield around us. The incoming spiders tried to breach the barrier but they get burned the second they made contact with our shield and fell onto the floor. Unfortunately, they got right back up and went for the shield again.

"Oh shit!" I swore as they started to swarm around us.

"The shield won't protect us for much longer! We gotta do something," warned Bloom.

"Well, I've got an idea!" winked Flora cheerfully, "just follow me. Ready? Go!" On her command, we all jumped upward into the air, our shield dispelled as our flittering wings keeping us in midair. Below, the spiders were crawling and piling up on each other due to the lack of room in the hall.

"Got any bug spray?" Stella asked Flora hopefully.

"If I did, I would've used it on you a long time ago," I joked.

"Hey, watch it!"

"No need for that Stella, we'll just use the spiders' natural enemy," chuckled Flora. She blew some magic dust onto the ground and a huge, furry creature appeared. "Here you go! A beautiful spider eater!" exclaimed Flora as the animal began to eat the spiders with its long tongue. While it did this, it stomped on a few spiders, leaving behind muddy remains.

"Goodness, Professor Palladium's lessons are good for something after all," grinned Stella as the animal continued munching. It got rid of all the spiders in a few short minutes and disappeared after its job was done.

"You know what? Something tells me we're not out of the woods yet!" worried Bloom as we returned to the ground.

"Bloom's right. That was way too easy," agreed Tecna.

"But you didn't even do anything," I said shortly.

"Hey, let's not sell ourselves short. We simply dealt with the problem efficiently!" insisted Stella, laughing. While that stupid head kept laughing, the muddy reminisces of the spiders start to gather. Musa cleared her throat loudly, but Stella kept on like nothing was wrong.

"Stella, not to rain on your parade but maybe it's time to go!" interrupted Musa, grabbing Stella's wrist as the remains became a horrifying monster.

"We have to run!" shouted Flora as it charged for us.

"Fuck running! Use your wings!" I snapped, using mine to become airborne. The others followed my lead and we charged down the hall, the monster hot on our trail.

"How do we get rid of that thing?!" asked Musa loudly over the beast's screams and moans from behind.

"There's a turn up ahead! Let's go that way!" suggested Stella, pointing straightforward.

"No! Whatever you do, _don't_ go that way!" I countered.

"If we keep going straight, we're doomed so I say we at least try loosing it!" disagreed Musa. The others hummed their agreement and I sighed hopelessly. Unlike them, I _knew_ the next corridor was a dead end. But nevertheless, I followed them anyway.

We turned down the other corridor and were able to fly for about a minute or two before the dead end came into view. "Watch out!" yelled Bloom, being the second to see it.

"Huh—AHH!" Stella stopped just in time before running straight into the wall.

"The hell, Stella? Do you fly looking down or something?" I hissed as the monster got closer.

"It's a dead end, so what should we do?" whimpered Flora.

"We have no choice but to take him on," responded Tecna as we landed on the ground in badass fighting stances. The second the monster was close enough, we all blasted the beast with all our might. We kept throwing spells at it, forcing it back.

When I saw the thing was about to burst from our assaults, I held up a hand. "Protection of the Winds!" I yelled and a sphere of air encased us as the monster exploded. "You can thank me later," I boasted, disintegrating my shield.

"Um, there's a door here," spoke up Stella, turning around and noticing the twin doors behind us. "And it's locked, so we have a problem." Tecna suddenly rammed into the doors like a badass, forcing them open. "Not anymore!" chimed Stella as we hurried into the room.

The room was ceiling-high full of junk from poll tables to old bed frames to broken tables. "Where are we?" asked Musa.

"Like we have a fucking clue!" I said, though I actually did.

"I've heard of rooms like this but I'd never thought they'd really existed, "explained Stella, looking around. "Witches are very messy creatures! Instead of organizing their library, cataloging their stuff, they just tuck everything away like that."

"What an eerie silence... I have a bad feeling," muttered Musa, "huh? Uh! Ah!" Screaming, she pointed down at the floor at a bug. "A beecomb monster!"

Stella jumped in front of Musa, who was uncharacteristically trembling in fear. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it! Sun Shower!" She emitted a bright light that was apparently too bright, because it immediately set the room and everything stored away in it ablaze. While we coughed due to the smoke, Stella looked around for the bug as if almost oblivious to the disaster happening around us. "Ha! I got it!" she triumphed, noticing the burnt-to-a-crisp beecomb upside down on its back by the fire. "Nipped in the bud!"

She took a moment to look around. "OH GOODNESS, WE'RE GONNA BURN!" she cried, reality soaking into her brain as the fire grew larger.

"Thanks a lot, Stella," frowned Musa, crossing her arms and glaring at the girl.

"What the—I was protecting you!" countered Stella, growling.

Flora coughed even more. "I-I can't breathe. The smoke's too thick," she rasped, her face reddening.

"The flame's blocking the door, so we're trapped again," said Tecna as the fire surrounded us.

"Cadey! You have the power of wind! Just put the fire out!" suggested Stella.

"Dummy, don't you know oxygen only _fuels_ fire?" I facepalmed.

" _Ooh!_ Just as we bickered, Bloom mindlessly started for the wall, meaning Daphne was guiding her to the way out. "Hey, Bloom? What are you doing?" asked Stella as we all turned to watch. "Get back, it's dangerous!"

The flames parted, revealing a metal circular door on the wall. Bloom rested her palm against it and it opened. "Hey, you found the way out!" exclaimed Flora.

"Way to go, girl!" Stella slapped Bloom on the back.

"Huh?" Bloom shook out of her trance. "What just happened?"

"Who gives a fluff? Let's get out of here!" I threw myself in the hole. "WOOHOO!" I shouted as I slid down the tube. I squealed and laughed the whole way down until I landed face-flat on the ground at the end of the chute. "Damn it," I grumbled, "that hurt."

"Coming through!"

When I turned around, all I saw was Flora's ass. "Oh shit-!" She landed on my face, forcing me back onto the ground. "Get off me!" I ordered, my voice muffled by Flora's rump.

Flora giggled nervously. "Sor—AHH!"

One by one, all the Winx flew out, resulting in a six-fairy pileup. And of course, I was at the bottom.

Yet somehow, I knew the pain from our dog pile was going to be nothing compared to what was waiting for us in the road ahead…


	10. A Cockroach, Bet, Ghost, and Flora

There came a time in everyone's life when they had to man up (or woman up in this case) and face reality and its challenges. For some, it was moving out of their parents' house, trying to get over an addiction, attempting to finally manage their money right, or simply becoming responsible and doing their homework. But me and the girls? We had to face something _way_ more difficult. We had to use _way_ more elbow grease. We had to-

"Cleaning! I just hate it!" shouted Stella, kicking over a bucket. Its hot, soapy contents poured out all over the floor as a result.

"Stella! That was my mop water!" frowned Flora as the corridor became flooded.

"So? It's not like you had to climb Magix's mountains to find it in some rare ocean or something. Just make some more," insisted Stella with a snort, holding her chin high.

"Why don't _you_ do it? You hardly—no, scratch that. You _haven't_ done anything all morning," pointed out Musa, putting her hands on her hips and glaring death at Stella. As planned, the six of us got caught for sneaking to Cloud Tower and were forced to clean most of the school while everyone else and their grandmother got to go to some lame we-didn't-know-about-it-until-now concert.

"Yeah, Stella. Either make like a shepherd and get the flock out or grab a broom," I snapped, getting up from my hands and knees. I couldn't help but chuckle at my own wisecrack. All morning, I'd been making nonsensical jokes like that. Me and my brother used to do stuff like that all the time back at home. Boy, I missed them.

"No way. I'm a princess and princesses don't clean. We have people to do that _for_ us," yawned Stella, observing her nails.

"It's the same for me back home," spoke up Tecna, who was cleaning the window. "Except it's automatons that do the simple, tedious work while we people focus on the more important things."

"Yeah, that would explain the reason you're using a toilet brush to clean that," I said, rolling my eyes at her foolishness. The computer geek was literally standing on a step stool scrubbing the glass with a _toilet_ brush.

"Hmm. So that's what this is for? I thought it was appropriate for the task since it's so long," said Tecna, observing the cleaning tool closely. She didn't seem one bit freaked out that it was probably used and had dirty-ass latrine gems on it.

Since we couldn't use our magic (honestly, I didn't know you could just take someone's magic away like that) or Tecna's technology to complete our chores, we had no choice but to resort to manual labor.

"Cleaning's not so bad," insisted Flora with a cute smile as she and Bloom tried mopping the spilt water off the floor, "you just gotta get used to it, that's all. It's fairly simply after a while."

"I don't _do_ suchcommon folk stuff," said Stella boastfully, finger-combing her hair. "It's just not my style."

We all ignored her. "I think it'd be easier for us all if we split up," suggested Musa, resting her mop against the wall. "Divide and conquer. Me, Flora, and Cadey can clean the locker room while the rest of you finish the halls. That way, we'll get done earlier so we won't be stuck with this all day."The rest of us excluding Stella hummed our agreements.

After gathering up our supplies, Musa, Flora, and I headed down the hall for the locker room (which I didn't know Alfea even had until a few days ago). "How about we have a little fun after we get done?" I suggested with a devilishly giggle. "Since everyone's gone, think about all the weird stuff we could find in their rooms-"

"We're not intruding into anyone's room," interrupted Flora firmly, "that's rude. And besides, you always find odd things…" We all shuddered at the remembrance of those condoms we found back in the Trix's room.

"It wouldn't be worth it anyway. Most girls basically own the same things," pointed out Musa uninterestedly as we pushed open the double doors leading into the locker room. The mixed smells of sweat, must, old towels, lavender deodorant, and gossip greeted us instantly. "Jewelry, lip gloss, expensive hair dryers. We can find all those things in Stella's room so there's really no point."

"Aww man." I pouted, mocking disappointment.

"Don't worry. There are other, more sane ways to entertain yourself," promised Flora as she began sweeping underneath a bench. "How about…we play 'what would you do'? Let's make up random scenarios that we'll probably never be in and come up with funny solutions to get out of them."

"Eh, that's better than hearing Stella go on about how she's too spoiled to do anything," nodded Musa in agreement, "let's start with this: what would you do if you were wanted by the police for committing a horrible crime?"

"Hmm. I'd turn myself in," replied Flora a little too quickly, "if I did something that horrible, I'd deserve to be locked up."

Ugh. Typical good girl response. "Why the hell would I give myself up for? I'd make like my mom's first baby daddy and get the fuck out of town," I snorted, getting on my knees to scrub some glue-like stuff off the floor. I looked up to see Musa and Flora just staring at me. "Don't even ask," I sighed, rolling my eyes at the ceiling. "Don't even ask."

"I'm with Cadey. Except, I'd go a little bit farther by getting out of the _country_ ," said Musa, moving aside a garbage can so she could sweep behind it. "That way, they wouldn't—ew, gross!"

"What is it?" asked me and Flora simultaneously.

Musa wrinkled her nose in disgust and backed away from the corner. Seeing she looked disturbed, I didn't hesitate to rise to my feet and hurry over there. Musa pointed downward at something and I leaned in to take a closer look. I gagged immediately at the sight of a super-used feminine sanitary napkin. Flora, who was looming over me, gagged even louder.

Man, the struggles of cleaning up a _girl's_ locker room. If this is what janitors went through on a regular, they definitely deserved to get paid more. "Why didn't she go to the bathroom and change?" I hissed, noticing the fishy stench coming from it. "Flora, is this _yours_? You're on your period, aren't you?"

I could _hear_ the girl blushing. "Yes, but that isn't mine! I change in the restroom near our apartment. Besides, even if I _did_ change in here, I wrap mine up in toilet paper before discarding it…."

"Although we can all agree that is super repulsive, _someone's_ gotta get that up," mentioned Musa, still scowling.

"I'm not touching that thing!" I refused, standing up and backing away. "Though I might not show it, I got standards! And picking up girl's old underwear napkins ain't a part of them. Besides, _you_ saw it. _You_ pick it up."

"That isn't how it works!" snapped Musa in return. We all turned to Flora expectantly.

"I-I don't want to do it either," she blushed.

"We'll just do rock-paper-scissors," I decided, "loser has to deal with _that_."

"Rock-paper-scissors can't go three ways!" insisted Musa, "we'll just outdo each other."

"Just shut up and get over here."

We all formed a circle. "Rock, paper, scissors," we chanted, swinging our fists to the chant, "shoot!" I gave out rock, Musa gave our rock, and Flora…poor, poor Flora. She had scissors.

"Sorry Floes, but that's your problem now." I patted the girl on the back.

She smiled though I could see her disappointment. "It's okay. I knew I was going to lose anyway because I'm not very good at the game."

"Good at what?"

We all turned to see Stella strolling into the locker room with a look of boredom on her face. "Scratch what I said earlier, Flora. Stella, get your ass over here!" I snapped at the blond. "We have a job for you."

Stella gave us a long groan. "That's why I left Bloom and Tecna. How many times do I have to repeat myself? I'm a princess and I don't do-"

"Stop talking now or I'll tell Ms. Griselda it was you who started that rumor about her being a cross-dressing male," warned Musa, giving her an evil smile.

Stella's face went white. She gave Musa a _you-wouldn't!_ look, making Musa's smile grow bigger. " _Fine!_ " spat the blond, stomping over to us. "But I'm not doing—WHAT THE HECK IS _THAT_?" Her face twisted in horror and she pointed at the extremely red pad.

"That, my friend, is another girl's monthly burden," I informed, holding back a laugh. "And you, dearest Stella, have to clean it up."

"You three have _lost your mind_ ," growled Stella, suddenly looking very scary.

"Oh, okay. I see. I might as well go get my cell and dial up Ms. Griselda then," sighed Musa, suppressing her smile as she started for the door.

Stella grabbed her arm. "No! I-I'll do it," she announced, keeping her _I'll-eat-you-in-your-sleep!_ expression. "But you girls have to be standing right there behind me!" The three of us nodded, relived that we weren't stuck with the task anymore.

After Stella geared up (by that, I mean put on three pairs of gloves, a nose mask, and a hairnet for some reason) she neared the pad in the corner with caution. "Why the heck would that girl change in a locker room anyway?" she complained, taking a pair of small tweezers out of her pocket. "Where everyone could _see_ her taking off her thing?"

"She probably did it while no one was looking," I considered, raising my eyebrows at her. I didn't know which was odder: the fact that she carried tweezers around in her pocket or honestly thought she could pick up the pad with them.

"Seriously, Ms. Faragonda needs to put up a sign or something," muttered Stella, her hand nearing the pad.

"What's it supposed to say? 'Be sure you don't leave your used sanitary napkin around on the floor so someone won't trip'?" I asked sarcastically as Stella managed to grab the thin side of the pad with her "weapon".

"What girl is shameless and careless enough to do _this_?" went on Stella, slowly but steadily lifting the pad off the floor with her tweezers.

"Ewww!" we all groaned at the small red puddle it left behind.

Stella turned her face away from it and kept her grip on the tweezers so she wouldn't drop the pad on her feet. She quickly made a break for the garbage can and dropped it into the bag. "Whew! I hope I never have to do something like that again," she murmured, slipping off her unnecessary gloves. "Now if you'd excuse me, I have to go wash my hands."

We all watched quietly as Stella made her dramatic exit. I looked at the blood puddle and held up a fist. "Rock-paper-scissors on who's cleaning that up."

* * *

"Alright, ladies. What's behind this door is beyond me," I said boldly, "but whatever we face in there, don't be discouraged. We can take it. We're not sissy little girls. We're strong, independent women and aren't afraid to get our hands dirty."

"Wait, we're gonna get our hands dirty?" asked Stella with newfound concern.

"Here here!" agreed Musa and Bloom in unison, obviously ignoring Stella. They pumped their brooms and brushes in the air.

"We're armed, dangerous, and ready to kick ass. Are you prepared to do this thing?" I continued in a stronger voice.

"Yeah!" went Musa and Bloom. Tecna just blinked confusedly, Flora gave a little giggle at our silliness, and Stella scowled.

"Okay then! CHARGE!" I yelled, kicking the door open. The combined smells of perfume, shit, pee, sweat, onions, and strawberries invaded our noses the second we stepped in the bathroom.

"I'm gonna hurl," gagged Musa, pinching her nose and holding her stomach. The next thing on our agenda was the downstairs bathroom by the gym. And by the looks and smells of the place, it was almost like _boys_ used it in here instead of girls.

"When's the last time someone decided to clean this death trap?" complained Stella, shuddering with disgust.

I shrugged like it was no big deal. "It ain't so bad. My brothers' bathroom smells way worse than this so…"

"Well, let's get to work. This place isn't going to clean itself," frowned Bloom, clenching her mop. "I'll clean the floors, Tecna can clean the floors, someone'll need to clean the toilets-"

"Not it!" exclaimed me, Flora, and Musa at the same time. All eyes landed on Stella.

The blond froze. "No. No, no, no! I am _not_ cleaning those!" she insisted, stomping her foot stubbornly. "Anything but those."

"Sorry girl but that isn't how it works," I chuckled, reaching into our supplies' bucket and tossing the toilet brush over to Stella.

She caught it with hesitation. "B-but, I'm a princess!" she whined, making a puppy face at us. "I don't-"

"Oh, then I'm sure you wouldn't mind if Musa called Ms. Griselda right now and-"

"Never mind. I'll do it," growled Stella, interrupting me. She glared death at me.

"You're such a big help," smiled Flora, hugging the girl sweetly. She didn't seem to notice Stella's hostile attitude.

"Yeah, yeah. Save the kiss-up comments for later," hissed Stella rudely, shaking Flora off. "Honestly, they need to pay us for this…"

"No kidding. I feel bad for janitors," commented Bloom, dunking the mop in the bucket of mop water. "They have to deal with stuff ten times worse than this and are still the lowest paid workers in the country."

Stella's eyes widened with disbelief. "People like that really exist?"

We all ignored Her Royal Ignorance. "Forget it. Let's just get to work so we won't have to stay here all day," suggested Musa, spritzing the sinks with disinfectant. "I'm sure inhaling all these fumes aren't good for our lungs…"

"Or sanity," I chimed. Stella cautiously opened one of the stalls and groaned at the sight of the toilet. "Need me to hold your hair back?" I volunteered, knowing the princess was way out of her comfort zone.

The blond nodded slowly and proceeded into the stall like a man entering a snake den. I stood behind her and cringed at the sight of the black ring inside the toilet bowl. "Damn, that stinks," I cussed, grabbing Stella's hair so it wouldn't fall in her face as she bent down.

"Tell me about it. The janitor around here must be slacking or something," mumbled Stella, taking the bottle of toilet cleaner beside her feet. She squirted a lot of the thick blue liquid around the inside of the toilet bowl and took a deep, preparing breath. "Here goes nothing," she whispered lowly. And with that, she began scrubbing the inside of the toilet with the brush.

"Go Stella, go! Go Stella, go!" I chanted, holding back a chuckle as the blond scrubbed furiously. "Go Stella, go! Go Stella g-" I stopped short when I saw a big-ass cockroach squeeze from underneath the toilet. Stella, who was too busy complaining and scrubbing, didn't seem to notice that the red-and-black bug was crawling right there at her feet.

 _Oh shit. Go away, go away, go away_! I prayed as I watched it crawl around. If it got on Stella, someone was going to die. Whether it was the bug or Stella, I had no idea.

I held my breath as it stopped right there by the back of Stella's feet. I cautiously lifted my shoe to crush it, but I was too late.

"EEEEEEEKKKKKKKK!" screamed Stella the second the roach attached itself to her leg. She dropped the brush into the toilet and threw herself backwards into me. "SOMEONE GET IT OFF ME!" she cried as the both of us fell onto the floor. During my descend, I actually knocked over the bucket of mop water, resulting in a massive spill.

"GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" howled Stella, who I might add was on top of me, waving her arms around and kicking her legs madly. While she was busy making a fool of herself, she didn't even notice the roach wasn't on her anymore. Instead, the bug was moving with ninja speed across the floor in the opposite direction.

"ROACH!" yelped Flora, pointing down at it with fear. Musa and Bloom screamed.

"KILL IT, KILL IT!" screamed Musa, somehow jumping up onto the sink when the bug changed course and headed towards her.

Seeing the stupid thing was causing a scene, I pushed Stella off me and jumped to my feet. "EVERYONE CALM DOWN!" I shouted. Everyone besides Tecna was too busy panicking. Flora was cowering in a corner, Musa was still balancing herself on the sink, and Bloom was pressing herself against a wall as the cockroach ran about in circles like it was retarded or something.

"WE'RE GONNA DIE!" shrieked Stella, throwing herself on me.

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? IT'S JUST A LITTLE BUG!" I insisted loudly. The other girls just went on screaming and crying out with fear. "PUT ON YOUR BIG-GIRL PANTIES AND SQUISH THAT FUCKER!"

"I don't understand," stated Tecna dully, "what's going on?"

Seeing I couldn't reason with these girls, I positioned my foot above the cockroach and brung it down hardly. Underneath my foot, the roach made a crunching sound as I put my weight on it. When I lifted my shoe, the bug was completely crushed and laying in its brown insides. Its antenna was still somehow moving, but the others didn't seem to notice.

"Whew. I thought we were goners for sure," breathed out Stella, wiping her forehead with relief. "For a second, I thought I wasn't going to see my parents ever again."

"Someone hurry and clean that up," suggested Bloom eyeing the flattened bug with disgust. "Even though it's dead, that thing still creeps me out."

"Not it!" exclaimed Musa, Bloom, Stella, and Flora.

"Fine. What the hell ever. You guys were just going to make me do this anyway," I snorted, proceeding into a stall for some toilet paper.

Tecna, who was still confused, blinked. "I still don't understand. What just happened?"

* * *

"Okay, someone's gotta say it. This whole stay-here-and-do-our-dirty-work-until-we-come-back-from-having-fun thing is totally boring," yawned Stella, leaning against the wall as she observed her nails. We were in the entrance hall taking a break.

"Yeah. After all we just did, I kind of wish we hadn't snuck into Cloud Tower," agreed Flora, looking down with shame.

I snorted. I felt the exact opposite. Right about now, the Trix were at their crumby little witch school ranting on about how we were about to pay for sneaking into Cloud Tower when ironically, they snuck into Alfea every other day.

"We don't have anyone else to talk to," sighed Musa, who was sitting at the bottom of the stairs, "which sucks because this job is already boring enough…"

"Then why don't we invite the boys from Red Fountain?" suggested Stella.

"Yeah, why not? Then when we get caught, we'll be grounded into infinity," said Flora sarcastically, which was something I didn't know she was capable of.

"I think it's a great idea!" smiled Bloom brightly, much to Flora's dismay. "They could help us with the cleaning."

"But isn't that like cheating?" asked Tecna, raising an eyebrow.

Bloom shook her head. "Griselda said no magic and no techno-gadgets. She never said anything about flesh and blood."

"But of course! Then, when we're done cleaning, we can have a nice party!" exclaimed Stella, dropping her cleaning utilities.

"It's a wonderful idea!" agreed Musa.

"I can't wait!" added Bloom. The two girls high fived each other.

While they celebrated, I just remained quiet. It wasn't going to be a party with what was in store for us next…

* * *

"You guys sure didn't waste any time! It's great to see you!" enthused Stella, hurrying over to Sky (Brandon). The Specialists were just arriving in the courtyard on their hover bikes.

"Hey, you know us. When it comes to partying, the Specialists takes matters very seriously," joked Sky (Brandon), removing his red helmet.

I couldn't help but notice he was dressed up like he was attending something fancy. "What's with the outfit, _'Your Highness'?"_ I asked, strolling over with my hands stuffed in my pockets. "Before we can party, we got some serious shit to do."

Riven smirked, stepping off his bike. "Like what? You girls probably don't even have a lot to do. You're just pathetic," he insisted, crossing his arms with a prideful snort.

"Riven…." said Brandon (Sky) in a warning tone.

"Actually, we got most of the cleaning done," I mentioned with a straight face, "but there's just one place we forgot. The upstairs _bathroom_ , also known as the Junkyard."

The other girls groaned at the very name. Riven just snorted again. "What's so special about a dumb bathroom?"

I stared at him blankly. "It's the cleanest bathroom at Alfea."

"So what's the big deal?" asked Riven, harshly staring back.

"Besides the fact it's home to Stall #7," I continued, making the girls groaned again. "It's literally the nastiest stall in Alfea and no matter what you do to it, it stays that way."

Riven just laughed rudely. "Yeah right. Listen girly, you ain't seen nothing. As newbies at Red Fountain, we get stuck with the worst jobs possible. This 'stall seven' of yours is super-duper clean compared to the ones we gotta deal with. In fact, I think our cleanest stalls are dirtier than 'stall seven'."

 _Gotcha._ I allowed myself to smile. "Is that a bet?"

Riven blinked as if taken back by my proposal. " _Seriously_? Boy, you're stupider than I thought," he laughed out loud, "how much? Ten? Twenty?"

"Fifty," I said, still smiling.

Riven's eyes widened and he laughed even harder. "See, guys? I told you they were nothing but dumb little girls," he chuckled, looking at Sky, Brandon, and Timmy. He turned back to me, grinning proudly. "Fine. You got yourself a deal."

I took my right hand out of my pocket, spat in my palm, and held it out. "Shake on it."

"You bet I will," smirked Riven, spitting in his own hand. "I just made myself fifty dollars richer." He took my hand and we shook, our fingers wet from each other's saliva. "Now, let's go see this 'stall number seven'. The faster we get this done, the faster I get my money."

I nodded, smiling even wider. "After you, good sir," I said, gesturing towards Alfea.

As we all started towards Alfea, the other boys gave me looks of sympathy as if I just made a huge mistake. I just smiled at them, showing my confidence. Musa squeezed in between me and Stella and giggled. "Well, you just made some money," she whispered.

"Don't I know it."

Honestly, the boys of Red Fountain had no idea what they were in for.

* * *

"Well, here we are," announced Bloom, holding the bathroom door open for us. The boys entered first, looking around.

"This is it?" snorted Riven in disbelief. Everything was literally perfect. The sinks were glistening with cleanliness, the mirrors were smudge-less, there wasn't one speck of dirt in between the tile, and the toilets literally sparkled.

"This place looks like it belongs in a grand hotel in comparison to the restrooms at our school," said Timmy lowly, adjusting his glasses in awe.

Honestly, the guys at Red Fountain must've missed the toilet _every_ time they went to pee if it was _that_ bad. But nevertheless. "This is nothing," I assured them, walking over to the closed stall on the far left against the wall. The girls stayed near the entrance, not wanting to see what I was about to reveal. " _This_ is where shit gets real," I said, ignoring the out-of-order sign posted on the door.

And without warning, I swung the door open and gagged the second I laid eyes on what was inside. The stall lived up to its myths and beyond. The tiled wall behind the toilet was nearly black with spotty brown stuff and an underlined message saying: NEED TOILET PAPER was neatly written in shit on the adjacent wall. Not only that but the wall it shared with the next stall was covered in messages written in marker and lipstick.

The toilet was spotted with dried piss and the water inside its bowl was pure brown. The tile on the floor was lined with thick black and brown stuff and there was even a pile of _dirt_ in the corner. _Used_ toilet paper was draped above the toilet and green mounds that looked like shit lined the bottom of the toilet. Apart from that, mold was growing _everywhere_ and black stuff was spilling out of the toilet.

"OH JESUS!" I cussed, leaping back.

Riven, who obviously didn't take that as a warning, just laughed rudely and proceeded into the stall. It took him less than a millisecond to swear aloud, too. "OH SHIT!" he swore, jumping back as well. The other guys and girls hurried over and dared to look into it. They all gagged and groaned immediately.

"We're gonna die," cried Stella, covering her nose.

"How can _girls_ be this potentially disgusting?" asked Timmy with discomfort, looking very faint.

"Eh…well….this won't clean itself," stated Brandon (Sky) slowly.

"I'm gonna need some intense alcohol after this," I muttered, stepping back. "Or therapy for that matter."

"I'm going to be sick," moaned Flora, holding her stomach.

"You know what they say. Better now than never, right?" laughed Bloom nervously.

"I think I'll go with never," murmured Stella, turning her back to the revolting scene.

"Grab a sponge, everyone. This is gonna be a LONG afternoon," sighed Musa.

After putting on a few pairs of gloves each and a nose mask, we were ready to make like Elvis and rock and roll. "If I don't survive this, tell my brother to bury those twenty dollars he owes me along with my old, soul-less husk," I muttered.

"Have fun in there," giggled Stella, handing me a towel and a bottle of disinfectant. "And don't get too crazy."

"Shut up. Well, here goes motherfucking nothing," I breathed, following Riven into the stall. Everything was extremely repulsive in there, but I didn't say anything. Even with a nose mask on, I didn't want to open my mouth and expose myself to the gems floating about.

"I will never look at girls the same way again," whispered Timmy as he and the others watched us with sympathy.

"Hey, something ain't right about this place," I argued, daring to open my trap. "They say no matter what you do to this place, it always ends up dirty the next second."

"Wow. You girls are nasty _and_ stupid," muttered Riven, who was trying to plunge the toilet.

"Shut up, mate," I hissed, spraying a heck of a lot of disinfectant on the NEED TOILET PAPER shit message. After taking a deep breath, I started scrubbing it. I gagged as the shit smeared across the tile. I seriously wanted to track down whoever did this and STRANGLE THEM TO DEATH WITH MY BARE TWO HANDS.

With a little—a lot of elbow grease, I managed to scrub away most of the shit message. I grimaced at my now brown butt-nasty towel. I was gonna toss the thing into the first trashcan I saw when I got finished. Knowing the job wasn't even half done, I looked up to finish scrubb—

"WHAT THE HELL!" I shrieked over Riven's grunts and the sounds of toilet water splashing. All of the NEED TOILET PAPER shit note was back on the wall, looking slimier and newer than ever. What the flip flop?! Did it just… _grow_ back?

"Oh, c'mon. And you talk about me," giggled Stella, "you're just as pathetic."

"No! This bathroom's _weird_! Everyone watch this!" I shouted. After everyone managed to squeeze into the stall's doorway, I scrubbed away the NEED TOILET PAPER message again.

"Whoopee. So you cleaned it. Big deal," yawned Stella.

I didn't say anything but kept staring at the tiled wall. Right before our eyes, the same message was _growing out_ of the tile and back into existence. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" I yelled.

"The place is evil!" shrieked Flora, "it doesn't want us to clean it."

Before I could ask if it was possessed, the toilet started to shake and vibrate madly. "Oh shit," mumbled Riven, stepping back into me.

"HIT THE DECK!" I yelled, pushing past everyone and running out of the stall. Riven made it out just in time as the all the brown water shot up out of toilet, raining down on the floor and walls.

"Who dares threaten my home?" hissed a harsh voice.

"OH SHIT!" I yelped as the lights began to flicker on and off.

"The bathroom's possessed!" exclaimed Musa, huddling against Flora.

"Let's get out of here!" I yelled, hurrying over to the door. I grabbed the metal handle. As much as I pulled on it, the damned door didn't budge. Like, _at all._ "Shit. We're trapped," I grumbled, catching my breath as I stepped back.

"You're just weak. Let me try," snapped Riven, pushing me out of the way. He grabbed the handle and began tugging on it hopelessly.

"Oh great! We're all stuck in here!" panicked Stella, clomping around in her high heels nervously.

"Everyone calm down. I'm sure there's a logical explanation for this," said Sky slowly and unsteadily, looking confused.

"Uh…is that explanation enough?" squeaked Musa, pointing at Stall #7. Weird smoke and an evil laugh were emerging from it. Oh great. What was happening now? We all crowded in front of Stall #7 again to see a wisp of black smoke surfacing from the toilet.

"Well, that's new," I commented dully as the wisp turned into a dark, shadowy figure of a woman.

"Who dares threaten my home?" she repeated, looking at us with yellow eyes.

"Who the fuck are you?" I asked, hardly intimidated by the ghost or whatever she was.

"I am Magalia, the spirit of this-"

"Uh, yeah. Magalia, I'm gonna have to ask you to make like Michael Jackson and beat it before I _make_ you," I warned, rolling my eyes at the phantom thing.

"Wh-what do you want from us?" trembled Flora, her bottom lip quivering.

"This place. It's her home," I said knowingly, "she was probably exiled from the ghost world or something and took refuge here in Stall #7. And so no one will bother forcing her out of her new home, she made it as revolting as possible so no one would go near it."

"Typical," snorted Riven.

Magalia hissed at us. "And since you all were the wise ones who dared awaken me, I'll-"

Not wanting to hear the rest of her ranting, I pointed my bottle of disinfectant at her. "Shut the hell up," was all I said before I started spraying her with it.

"EEEKK!" the spirit screamed as I sprayed her some more.

"That's it! She's disappearing!" cheered Bloom, "keep going!" Sure enough, the ghost's body was slowly disintegrating with every spritz.

"Evil spirit! Be gone!" I yelled, delivering the final blow (spray in this case).

Magalia screamed out loud as the last bit of the disinfectant made contact with her body. She disappeared with a _poof_ , causing black smoke to fill the bathroom. Coughing and waving the smug out of our faces, we all exchanged what-just-happened's and that-was-stupid-as-fuck's.

When the fog finally cleared out, we all gasped at the sight of an oddly clean Stall #7. No dirt, no mold, no shit.

"How'd you know that would work?" asked Musa slowly, looking at me with a questioningly look.

"I didn't really," I shrugged, relief washing over me. "I just figured she was one of those waste-dump spirits or something and that something the opposite of dirty would be her weakness. It's common sense, really."

"Well, now that that's over, let's go ahead and have our party!" suggested Stella, looking proud like she just accomplished something important.

While everyone else echoed their agreements, I just stood there quietly.

Because I knew for a fact that something way worse than Magalia was coming.

* * *

I was on the roof.

Literally, not figuratively (though I had no idea would the figurative term for that would be).

Why, you ask? Simple.

I was on a mission. While the others were inside the Winx's apartment partying, I had been ducking behind a chimney for at least thirty minutes. This wasn't really a problem for me considering I'd done the same thing during Halloween last year except for WAY longer (don't ask).

The only things to keep me company were the moon, stars, and two buckets of my secret weapon. The red one was full of honey-soaked ropes while the blue one was filled to the brim with a mixture of old spaghetti from the kitchen, toothpaste, bleach, some old milk, and super-concentrated toilet cleaner.

Any minute now, the Trix were going to show their stupid asses here at Alfea and I was going to be motherfucking ready.

I yawned as the bass from Musa's music got louder. I was sitting right above the Winx's apartment, so I could hear everything. And though part of me wanted to be a part of the action, another part was also uninterested because the party didn't have any alcohol. No alcohol, no Acadia.

"Hey. I see lights. Someone's still here," whispered a voice, alerting me.

The Trix.

Suddenly feeling very excited, I got into position. I quietly slid down the roof's shingles just a little bit so I could peer over the edge. The Trix sisters were floating above the balcony, cautiously looking into the Winx's apartment through the glass.

Nice! They were in position.

With freakish speed, I reached for the blue bucket, held it high, and let its contents fall out atop the Trix's heads. While they screamed and squealed like little girls, I grabbed the red bucket and slid down onto the balcony along with them. "'Sup, jackasses," I nodded at them, taking out the sticky ropes (don't worry. I had gloves on).

While the witches were too busy trying to get the spaghetti out of their hair and faces, I had them all wrapped in the ropes (doing and typing ropes and strings had been my specialty in summer camp).

"What's going on out here?" demanded Stella, the glass doors suddenly swinging open. Stella and Musa appeared in the open doorway. It took them one good look at the witches and then at me to put two and two together (and no, that did NOT equal fish).

"The witches!" gasped Bloom, appearing between Musa and Stella. "But…why are _they_ here?"

"I'll call Ms. Faragonda right away," reported Flora before escaping into hers and Bloom's room.

Using my Hulk strength (that's right. I'm strong), I managed to drag the tied-up trio into the apartment for all to see. All the music and dancing stopped instantly. "Surprise," I grinned.

After managing to spit all the toilet bowl cleaner out of her mouth, Icy growled. "Don't think you've won, fairies!" I couldn't help but chuckle at the three. Their Gloomix outfits were soaked with the milk/bleach combination and covered in spaghetti while the toilet-bowl cleaner was slowly sliding down from their hair onto their faces.

"What's that on their heads?" asked Tecna slowly and hesitantly.

"Is that why you were hanging out on the roof? Because you knew they were coming?" asked Bloom, turning to me.

"Eh, I had a hunch." Sort of.

"You caught the bad guys. So what?" snapped Riven, pointing a finger at me. "This doesn't make you a hero or anything."

"I never said it did, mate. By the way, where's my fifty dollars?" I held my hand out expectantly.

Hissing at me, Riven dug into his pocket and slammed one wrinkled bill into my palm. "I'll give you the other twenty later," he grumbled. I stared down at the thirty-dollar bill in my hand. Man, Magix money was weird.

Instead of thanking him, I growled. "Fuck you, mate."

"You wish you could, _mate_ ," he countered, making _mate_ sound like some kind of insult.

"Just because you caught us doesn't mean anything!" blurted Stormy, ending me and Riven's intense glare-off. "We can still use magic! IIavat on-"

Before she could finish talking in whatever Star-Trek language she was speaking, I kicked off my shoe, took off my sock, and stuffed it in her mouth. "Sorry, but I can't have you using magic, mate," I informed, "Timmy, had me that duck tape over there on the table."

Before Stormy could spit out the sock, I grabbed the roll of tape from Timmy, tore off a nice piece, and pressed it against Stormy's mouth. "Anyone else feelin' lucky?" I asked, glaring at Icy and Darcy as I handily spun the roll of tape around my finger

"Ms. Faragonda's on her way!" reported Flora, running out of her room.

"Stupid fairies. You think you're so tough," hissed Icy lowly, staring at me with those chilly eyes. "We'll get you for this. I swear if it's the last thing I do-"

Without warning, I took off my other sock, stuffed in _her_ mouth, and taped it shut. I looked at Darcy as if daring her to speak. However, she was too busy looking at Riven, making me suspicious. Could it be she was already noticing Riven had the same heart and attitude as 'the Prince of Darkness', Lord Darkar? She was probably already figuring out how to manipulate him into siding with her.

Dammit. _That_ wasn't supposed to happen. I couldn't let Riven fall under her control. Sure, I hated him to hell, but he had a heart even if it was locked up behind police tape, threatening to strangle anyone who dared enter.

Hm. So it looked like Darcy wasn't going to be the only one strategizing. Hopefully, _I'd_ be the one to come up with a plan first…

* * *

"Well done, girls! Even without your magic, you managed successfully capture the three witches in training," applauded Faragonda, looking at the six of us with a proud face.

The Specialists had already gone and it was just us girls, Faragonda, and Griselda in the Winx's apartment. The Trix were still tied up, though looking a little… _roughed up._ Not that we beat them up. Earlier, Stella had suggested we mess up their hair and makeup.

" _Really, it's the least they deserved_ ," she'd said, persuading us all to add a million shades of this and that onto their faces.

"Well, it was all me really," insisted Stella, holding her chin high and fluffing up her hair.

"Hm. Is that so?" hummed Musa, smiling somewhat devilishly. "Then I'm sure Ms. Faragonda would also like to know it was _all you_ who started that rumor about-"

"Did I say it was all me? I meant to say Acadia!" interrupted Stella with a quick and nervous laugh, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. " _She did_ everything."

"Yeah, that's why I thought," giggled Musa.

"You witches' behavior was extremely unacceptable," went on Faragonda, looking down at the witches with a displeased frown. "I will personally take up the matter with Director Griffin."

The Trix stayed quiet, irritably taking Faragonda's lecture. I held back a chuckle at their new goofy appearance. We'd applied so much red lipstick to Icy's lips, they looked big and crusty. Darcy's eyebrows were freakishly big, thick, and hideous from all the liner Bloom had applied, and Stormy's face looked all out like one of a clown's.

"Tomorrow morning, she will receive a formal complaint. I've never seen such a total lack of disrespect," frowned Faragonda with her hands clasped behind her back, shaking her head. "I trust you will be disciplined accordingly. Goodbye girls." The lady snapped her fingers, teleporting the Trix away—most likely back to Cloud Tower.

"And now, it's your turn," announced Griselda, looking at us. It was hard to tell if she was being threatening or kind because she was wearing her usual _you're-such-a-disappointment_ face.

Apparently, the other girls were confused too because they held their breath anxiously. With a warm smile, Faragonda snapped her fingers and our bodies immediately glowed with magical auras. I breathed out in relief as the power of the wind came rushing back into my body, coursing through my veins.

While the other girls celebrated the return of our powers, I noticed a faint, fiery flicker on the back of Flora's palm. However, before anyone else could notice and I react, the fire quickly extinguished itself. Flora, who was busy talking, hadn't noticed because her hand was at her side. She obviously hadn't felt it either because she hadn't even flinched.

I opened my mouth to say something but quickly shut it. It was probably best if I didn't say anything. It some cases, it was best to just sit back and be silent. The answers always presented them eventually. And I wasn't going to sweat it until then.


	11. Spirit Day, Part 1

When we _finally_ got to Magix City's Grand Park, the place was already lit like a Justin-Beiber concert. Teens our age were everywhere talking, laughing, playing Frisbee, tossing around balls, and just outright having a good time.

"Wow. I didn't expect this place to be so crowded," said Bloom, "parks back on Earth were never really this packed. Even during the weekend."

But alas, this wasn't just _any_ weekend. It was Spirit Day, an event all schools throughout the universe celebrated. Me and Bloom hadn't known about it until this morning but from what Stella told us, Spirit Day was when high-school students from all around the dimension gathered together in one place to celebrate being active by participating in sports and other activities. And ironically, Spirit Day took place over the course of _two_ days.

Today, Friday, everyone was hanging out in the capital planet's main park, while tomorrow, Saturday, we were going to a boardwalk city on Solaria to chill out on the beach all day (Stella was super excited about that).

"Where are the guys? We were supposed to meet here," frowned Stella, finger-combing her hair.

"Yeah. _Thirty_ minutes ago," corrected Musa, sounding slightly annoyed.

We'd made plans with the Specialists to meet up at the park at exactly eight thirty when everything started, but _someone_ took extra long in the bath and choosing her outfit so we didn't make it on time.

"I don't see them anywhere. This crowd is so thick," observed Bloom slowly, scanning the crowd as she squinted against the sun's morning rays.

"Who cares about them? Let's go have some motherfucking fun!" I encouraged, swinging my high ponytail. I was seriously pumped about all of this. The air was fresh, the wind was delightfully breezy, and it was morning time (my favorite time of day). What more could I ask for?

"How about we go on a jog as a little warm-up?" suggested Musa.

"You guys go on ahead. I wanna look at the garden," smiled Flora, adjusting the straps of one of her many sports bras (and ironically, even under such a long, loose shirt, you could _still_ see her jugs jiggling).

"I'm going to see if I can pick up a better wi-fi signal," was Tecna's excuse.

"And I think I'm going to go look for the boys," added Bloom. Stella, who was too busy trying to apply lip-gloss, hummed her agreement.

"Looks like it's just you and me," announced Musa, giving me and silly loop-sized grin.

"Alright then. Let's make like Flora's boobs and _bounce_!" I declared, clapping my hands together. Ignoring all the looks a few passerbys were giving us, Stella's jealous grumbles, and Flora's embarrassed squeaks, we all went out own ways.

As the two of us started down the sidewalk, Musa and I stayed quiet. I didn't know the reason behind her soundlessness, but I was too busy looking around to start conversation.

Magix City's grand park was unlike any park I'd ever seen. Sure, I'd been here plenty of times but it just felt and seemed more beautiful today. Its miniature formal gardens were full of teens (instead of old people) actually conversing with each other face to face instead of staring down at their phones, the benches were shiny and sparkly from the sunlight, the ornamental trees seemed fuller than usual, butterflies and bees traveled to and from rose patches, and the water fountains inside the crystal lakes actually looked like sculpted works of art instead of cheap, dramatic, bird-poop covered investments.

Even with the hundreds and hundreds people, the place felt bigger than normal. Back home, a park was nothing more than a waste of space polluted with dog poop, vandalized equipment, and disgusting smelling flowers. But here, a park meant acres and acres of concrete interspersed with very neat and green grass verges. Serving as the main park of the capital planet Magix, it had rollerblading tracks, tennis courts, basketball courts, water parks, pools, and skate-boarder basins. There were different kinds of music playing from all over, thus clashing with each other but in a good way.

Activity booths and interactive events were placed and occurring everywhere you looked, encouraging you to participate and get into the festive spirit. And because there was particularly more people out today, vendors with all types of refreshments were set up all over, selling their merchandise for cheap. It was too bad none of them was selling alcohol (I could really go for a tequila right about now).

"So what's going on?" I asked at last, shaking myself out of my admiring state. We were well out of the other girls' earshot, so perhaps Musa would open up to me.

However, "It's nothing" was all Musa gave me as we jogged down the concrete pathways snaking through the park.

Though I might have exceptionally, I was no fool. It didn't take a genius to know she was thinking about Riven. She probably felt sad about how Riven treated her (which was like dirt. But in my opinion, that was super nice compared to how he dealt with me and Sky. We got the you're-a-piece-of-shit treatment).

After about another five minutes of silence (apart from my heavy breathing. Sorry but I'm really out of shape), I got an idea. "Hey! How about we get the girls and guys and hit the water park?" I suggested hopefully. One of the water slides was literally so epic and massive, I could see the top of it looming over the mass of trees in the distance. And the mixture of delighted, scared, and excited screams coming from it only got me even more worked up.

For the first time that morning, Musa smiled. "Sounds great. After all this sweating, I think—Cadey, look out!"

 _Whoosh!_

When I turned around, all I saw was a white orb flying towards me and the next thing I knew, I was lying on the concrete with a headache throbbing like techno.

Damn, that hit me like a wrecking ball (cultural pun NOT intended. That shit really hurt!).

"Are you okay?" asked Musa with concerned.

With a strong blood taste in my mouth, I slowly peeled my face off the hot concrete and sat up slowly. Two small red patches already were drying on the sidewalk where my head once laid, and a soccer ball with a matching stain was only inches away.

"Oops! Did I hit you?" giggled a sickeningly evil yet sweet voice. Musa and I both turned to see a girl with bouncy blue curls in a matching tracksuit jogging over to us with a twisted, devilish grin on her face.

I found myself silently swearing uncontrollably when I recognized her as the blue-haired girl—Mira, was it?—from that party me and the girls got played.

"Why you little…" I growled.

"You did that on purpose," frowned Musa, folding her arms across her chest. "What's your problem?"

Like we all didn't already know.

Mira paused a few inches away from us, staring at me with that same anger and hatred from the party. "Don't act like you don't have a clue," she hissed, clenching both fists. "You took our boyfriends away from us! Isn't that right, girls?"

"'Girls'?" I repeated questioningly, though I already knew what that meant. And like magic, Lillian and Daisy appeared on both sides of Mira, both of them glaring fire at us (specifically Daisy. Lilly was too busy tearing up to even keep a straight face).

"So where are the rest of your little slutty friends?" scowled Daisy, "out fishing for some more guys to seduce?"

I was about to retort her, but Bloom's voice threw me off. "Hey! Musa! Acadia!" she called out to us, running across the grass with Stella over to us . I swore under my breath when I spotted Timmy, Sky, and Brandon behind them.

"Ha! My point exactly," spat Daisy.

"Ugh! I can't believe you!" Mira stomped her foot angrily. "You make our boyfriends break up with us just so you could bitch around with other boys!?" she raged at me, catching the attention of everyone around us.

"Hey, what's going on?" asked Bloom with concern when everyone made it over. It took one glace at the 3 Angry Ex-Girlfriends for her face to fall. "Oh."

"You three again?" snorted Stella, twirling some blond hair around her finger. "What do you want now?"

"We didn't _make_ them break up with you for your information," I glowered at the three of them, "they didn't tell us they were taken."

"Um, are we missing something?" asked Timmy awkwardly, adjusting his glasses.

"Yeah. What are they talking about?" asked Brandon (Sky) suspiciously, glancing at me and then at Bloom.

"Don't worry. Bloom's not involved," I assured the blond, rolling my eyes at the sky. "See, back when school started there was this party and-"

"These two and that one with the big, _fake_ boobs seduced our boyfriends and made them break up with us!" interrupted Mira rudely, glaring at me and Stella and then turning to the boys. "And they're trying to control you three, too."

And speaking of three, wasn't there supposed to be _four_ Specialists? That's when I noticed Riven wasn't with us. Where was that jackass now?

"Puh-leez. If I wanted to seduce somebody, I could do way better than these three," I insisted harshly with a yawn. "No offense, guys."

"None taken," said Sky and Brandon simultaneously at the same time Timmy was saying, "I get that a lot."

"Tch." Mira clicked her tongue. "Whatevs. C'mon, girls. Let's bail before there's trouble." The rest of us remained silent as the three of them stomped off, leaving behind a lavender-scented _this-isn't-over_ mist.

"Well, that happened," snorted Stella.

"Who are those girls anyway?" questioned Sky (Brandon).

"Just some stupid-ass girls from a party. Nobody important. But anyways, what are we doing first?" I asked anxiously, already forgetting about the 3 Musketeers. "How about we go to the water park?"

"Ooh, yes! I finally get a chance to show off my new bikini," giggled Stella, eyeing Sky (Brandon) in a flirtatious kind of way.

"Oh…uh…swim suits? I don't know," fidgeted Timmy, his face turning red as he looked down at his shoes timidly.

"C'mon, Tim. Don't you want to see Tecna in a bikini?" teased Stella, wrapping an arm around the geek's shoulder. "I could've sworn I saw a _string_ two-piece in her closest the other day…"

I suppressed a laugh as Timmy's nose bled a little. Just the thought of his crush in a little bikini must've been too hot to handle.

"I'll text Flora and Tecna and tell them to meet us there," announced Bloom, taking out her phone.

"Where's Riven?" I asked the guys, sparing Musa the embarrassment of asking herself.

"I was just wondering that myself. He said he was going to meet us ten minutes ago," frowned Timmy, "and he isn't answering his phone."

"What's new? He's just being a jerk again," sighed Brandon (Sky). When did he stop?

"What if he's in trouble?" considered Bloom after sending her text to the rest of the Winx.

"Eh, the big lug can take care of himself. He's always saying that much, right?" pointed out Stella, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"No, I mean trouble-trouble," corrected Bloom.

"Gun-pointed-at-head trouble," I clarified for her. And to be honest, that sounded just like the kind of shit Riven could get himself into. "This is _Riven_ we're talking about, people. Anything's possible with him."

"I say we go look for him," suggested Bloom.

"Yeah," I agreed with a nod, "he might be extremely rude, arrogant, and have an attitude bigger than Flora's boobs-"

"Hey!" squeaked Flora, who just happened to be joining us.

"But he's still our friend," Bloom finished for me. I honestly wasn't going to go _that_ far, but hey! Whatever works, I guess. Any other day, I would've cared less about the Lone Wolf, but he still owned me twenty dollars. Twenty dollars I wouldn't get if the douche bag ended up getting shot.

"Let's split up," announced Tecna, appearing beside Sky (Brandon). We all startled at her sudden materialization. "What?" she blinked.

"We'll split up into groups of two," went on Bloom, "and we'll cover different parts of the park. If one team finds Riven, we'll call up the other groups and we'll meet at that location."

Yesh. A lot of trouble for a loser like Riven.

"I call Flora!" I blurted instantly.

"Cadey, no sexual harassment," frowned Bloom.

"Dang it. But anyways, let's make like a guillotine and head off, people!"

* * *

"Where is that fucker?" I complained for the umpteenth time as me and Flora traveled through the masses of people. We'd been walking around and around for at least thirty minutes and I was tired of it. Every second we wasted looking for the Lone Wolf could've been spent at the water park.

Oh, the water park. I felt myself getting more and more irritated with every passing minute. For all we knew, Riven probably wasn't even here. He most likely just bailed again and didn't bother to tell anyone.

"Don't call him that. Riven probably just…got caught up in something," insisted the always innocent Flora, "I'm sure it's nothing serious."

"Yeah, right," I snorted, rolling my eyes. "For all we know, that idiot's already—OOF!" I walked straight into something brick-hard, causing me to stagger backwards into Flora.

"Well, well, well. Look who it is," announced a familiar voice that made my skin crawl. Gritting my teeth, I slowly looked up to see the taunting, grinning face of Miller.

Shit.

"What do you want?" I growled, clenching my fists at my sides. I absolutely hated the way he was looking at us with that stupid lopsided grin. To anyone else, its message was innocent and playfully but to me, it was extremely mocking.

"What's going on?" asked Miller, placing a hand atop Flora's head. "Haven't seen you in a while."

I didn't know if the man-slut was addressing me or Flora, but I sure didn't give a heck. "Back off, buddy," I hissed, shoving him away. "In case you haven't figured it out, we don't _like_ you."

"Aw, you're so mean," pouted Miller, "always the aggressive type. But that's alright. I like feisty women. Me-yow."

I had two options: punch him in the face or just walk away. I was very tempted to do the first one, but I knew better.

"Whatever. Let's go, Flores," I scowled, grabbing my friend's arm and leading her away from the douche bag. "We don't need him."

"See you around!" called Miller's playful voice from behind.

I honestly hope we didn't.

"Uh, that was a little awkward," said Flora lowly after we put some distance between us and Miller.

"Tell me about it. But trust me, that ain't the last we're gonna see of him," I warned her as we walked (well, I was more marching than anything) down a concrete trail. "And I'm sure his other good-for-nothing friends are lurking around here somewhere. And that kind of sucks since their psycho girlfriends happen to be here too and…"

I trailed off and froze.

"Acadia? What is it?" asked Flora alertly, stopping as well and looking around.

I didn't say anything.

I just stared.

Not that far away—a few yards maybe?—I spotted Riven's backside (his spiky, magenta hair stood out among the crowd like a Lady Gaga fan at a Justin Beiber concert) at an ice cream vendor. However, that wasn't the unusual part (who didn't like ice cream?). It wasn't Riven I was staring at. It was the backside of a girl beside him. She had long brown hair and was holding on to Riven's arm the way I saw the all mushy-gushy girls cling on to their boyfriends.

"Oh shit," I swore, having recognized the girl, or should I say _witch_ , immediately.

The two turned around so me and Flora could see their faces. Dressed in a muscle shirt and torn jeans was Riven, who was holding an ice cream cone. And beside him was a girl in all purple with classes, her clothes containing weird illusional (is that even a word?) patterns.

"Darcy!?" gasped Flora.

What the hell?! Why—how?!—did Darcy make her move on Riven already?! We hadn't gotten that far in the series yet! Why were they together?!

"I'm calling the others now," announced Flora, taking out her phone. "I know this is all so sudden but let's just wait for the others-"

"To hell with waiting! I want answers _now_!" I snapped, marching over to the couple, who had yet to spot me and Flora. "Yo! Riven!" I barked.

Riven, who had been uncharacteristically smiling before, looked up at me and a scowl immediately spread across his face. "What do _you_ want?" he hissed when I got in range. I made sure there was a gap between us when I confronted them. I didn't want to be inhaling the same intoxicated air as Darcy.

"What are you doing with _her_?" I snapped, sending a sharp glare at Darcy.

"What does it look like, _genius_?" countered Riven, narrowing his eyes. "I'm out with my _girlfriend_."

I swore I saw a kid drop his ice cream when Riven said _girlfriend_. "Girlfriend? Since when?" I didn't even wait for an answer. "It doesn't matter. She's using you, Riven. This is all some scheme to get back at me and the girls."

"It's always gotta be about you and your dumb little friends, doesn't it?" growled Riven, "our relationship has _nothing_ to do with you. _Any_ of you." Lone Wolf didn't stop there. "And you know what? I think you're _jealous_ ," spat Riven, pointing an accusing finger at me.

I snorted in return. "You're naïve, honey."

Darcy rested her head on Riven's arm and smirked tauntingly at me. When our eyes locked, that smirk grew bigger.

"Is there a problem here?"

That chilling voice belonged to no one but Icy. She and Stormy stood in front of Riven and Darcy, matching my glare. "Humph. You little fairies really don't know how to stay out of the way," frowned Stormy, folding her arms across her chest.

Grrreaattt. The rest of the Trix were here, too. This was sure to end well.

"Right back at ya," I glowered, standing my ground. Honestly, WHY were the Trix around every corner?

"Riven!" called out a voice. I turned around to see Musa, the rest of the Winx, and Specialists hurrying over. "What's she doing here?" asked Musa with a growl, pausing beside me when her eyes landed on Darcy. Her eyes glowed with protective yet jealous fire. A glare that made Darcy's smirk grow even wider.

Her expression made it obvious she was pleased with the reaping of her harvest. In fact, this was what this was all about. To anger us. Get on our bad side (well, more like _worse_ side).

"Oh? Didn't Riven tell you? He's been seeing Darcy for the past few weeks," said Icy, observing her nails like she was bored or something, though she wasn't fooling anyone. Her face was twisted with fucked-up satisfaction as well. They were _all_ in this together.

"Wait. A few weeks? Riven, you didn't say anything to us about her," spoke up Brandon (Sky), looking his rival and friend (I think?) in the eyes.

"Yeah. We would've thrown you a bachelor party," joked Sky (Brandon). Seriously? I was all for jokes but c'mon, bro. Now was NOT the time.

"Like I had to. I don't need to tell you my every move like you're my mom, _Brandon_ ," sneered Riven, ignoring Sky (Brandon) like the rest of us. "I don't owe anything to you."

"However, you _do_ owe me twenty bucks," I announced in a singsong.

" _Shut up_!" Riven glared fire and brimstone at me.

"Don't pay attention to them, Riven. You don't need them," coaxed Darcy, burying her face into Riven's arm as she squeezed it tighter (was she _trying_ to cut off his blood circulation?)

"Cool it, Darcy! You don't love him, and we all know it!" exploded Musa suddenly, clenching her fists to tightly they were starting to turn red. "So stop with the sick act!"

"Musa, calm down." Brandon (Sky) rested a hand on the girl's shoulder. "It's okay."

"No! It's not okay!" blurted Musa, shaking him off. She pointed at Darcy the way the John Wilkes Booth aimed his gun at Abe Lincoln at that theatre. She didn't seem to care that a crowd was surrounding us, quietly watching and filming the fight. "It's not right! Riven's being used by this…by this… _whore_!"

Though no one spoke, I knew everyone was all like _dayum_ or _oh-no-she-didn't_.

"What did you just say?" shouted Icy, sounding like she was gearing up for a fight.

"You heard me damn well!" Musa shouted back in the same tone.

"Someone stop them!" pleaded Flora from behind me as Musa and Icy got in a _come-at-me-bitch_ stance, readying to pounce on each other at any given second.

And right at Musa was about to make the first move, Sky (Brandon) jumped in front of her. "Not so fast, sparky," he joked, taking her by her waist and lifting her up off the ground. He slung her over his shoulder and started away from the witches.

"No! What are you doing? Let me go!" demanded Musa angrily, kicking her feet and pounding on Sky's (Brandon's) backside furiously. "Let me at her!"

"No can do, sparky," was Sky's (Brandon's) reply as he carried her away, not seeming to notice her struggles.

"C'mon, everyone," I spat, turning around on my heels as Riven barked at the crowd to get the fuck out, resulting in its disbandment. "Let's get out of here before there's trouble."

But honestly, I knew for certain there _was going_ to be trouble.

Let's face it. That was inevitable, especially since us and all of our enemies were gathered in the same place. That was a recipe for guaranteed disaster.

* * *

"It's too little," panicked Flora for the tenth time, adjusting the bikini's straps. We were all in the girls' changing room, getting ready to hit the water park.

While the rest of us were just about ready, Flora was still fretting over her swim suit. "I-I don't understand! I could fit it back when I packed it for school," went on Flora, "wh-why doesn't it now?" She was in a hot-pink two piece, its top part just barely covering up her nipples.

"Take it or leave it," I nearly snapped at her, ignoring the jealous glances Stella was giving Flora. I didn't mean to be rude, but I was extremely excited to get on the water rides.

Most of the other girls in the room were jealously sending glances at Flora as if trying to determine if her jugs were plastic or natural. "They're real, people," I enlightened loudly, "so stop staring like she's filming pornography or something."

"Ca-Cadey!" stammered Flora.

I ignored her. "Well, I'm about to hit the water slides," I announced, swinging the door open. "I'll see you hoes later." And with that, I jogged outside. This part of the park was different from the rest. There was no grass, no swing sets, no dog poop. Just pools, slides, and even more pools. This was my kind of place!

Now, what should I get on first? Everything looked way too wicked, but there was only one slide that was worthy of my time. _The Splash Master_ , which was the same ride I'd spotted back when Musa and I were jogging. I was about to _conquer_ that beast.

Tingling with anxiety and excitement, I walked through the masses of people until I arrived at the ride's Snake-Way long line. Seriously, it looked like there were HUNDREDS of people ahead of me. My shoulders immediately dropped. I was going to be here a while.

"Ugh! This line's too long!" complained Icy's voice from behind me.

Shit.

"Tell me about it. We shouldn't even be here," complained Stormy's, "we should be at the mall or something but because of Darcy and that stupid Riven-"

"What about 'that stupid Riven'?" I asked, whirling around to face them. The two were dressed in their signature color bikinis, adorned in excessive jewelry and sunglasses.

"Great. Just what we needed," groaned Icy with an eye roll, "another Winx."

"But she's all alone," pointed out Stormy with a taunting grin, "she's useless and pathetic."

"Oh yeah? If that's the case, why don't we go one on one?" I suggested aggressively "you versus me. Wind against wind."

"Please. Compared to my violet storms, your pathetic little wind is nothing but a small autumn breeze," laughed Stormy rudely, getting into a fighting position. "I'm gonna blow you anyway!"

"Whatever. Come at me!"

I was about to make the first move if Flora hadn't suddenly appeared out of nowhere and get between us. "Wait a second, you two! There are too many people here. You could seriously hurt someone," she said sternly, frowning at Stormy and then me.

"Tch." Stormy clicked her tongue. "Who cares? Just get out of my way before I _make you_."

"Stormy, no!" Icy grabbed her sister's shoulder, hissing at me and Flora. "There are authorities around, remember? If you get caught, that would mean serious trouble for us."

Her statement honestly surprised me. I never expected her to say such a thing. But then again, they were just minor witches at this point. They had yet to their _screw-the-rules-we're-going-take-take-over-the-dimension-no-matter-what-you-jackasses-say stage_.

I didn't really think about that. Besides, since we were sandwiched by people, that wouldn't have worked anyway.

"By the way, Flora, how did you get so far ahead in the line?" I wondered aloud.

"Oh. Some kind gentlemen let me through." Flora smiled brightly as if she didn't notice the two witches scowling at her. That's when I noticed she was still wearing that tiny bikini. Well, that explained things.

"Whatever," spat Stormy. She glared at me. "This isn't over. One day, we're gonna have our little battle. And when that time comes, I'm not going to go easy on you."

I was looking forward to it just as much as you, Stormy. When that time does come, then we'll see who's truly the most powerful wielder of the winds.

* * *

"Woohoo! Finally!" I screamed when Flora and I got to the top. Thanks to Flores, her big boobs crammed in a tiny bikini, and extremely sweet smile, we got cutsies and made it to the front line in no time. "Let's do this thing!"

"Uh, you go right ahead," smiled Flora, "I'll go after."

"What's wrong? Scared?" I teased, taking in the view. We could seriously see the WHOLE water park from this height.

Flora turned red. "Nuh-no. It's just…you've been waiting for this longer than I have."

I rolled my eyes as I positioned myself on the ground in front of the chute. "If you say so. Just don't chicken out. See ya at the bottom!" And with that, I pushed myself forward. "WOOHOO!" I laughed as I slid down the curvy chute with turbo speed, the water inside it cooling my body.

I screamed with delight all the way until I reached the end, falling into a pool of crystal-blue water. "That was motherfucking awesome!" I yelled after coming up from under the water. As I blinked the chlorine out of my eyes, I heard and felt another splash behind me meaning Flora had just came down. "Flora, wasn't that cool?"

"Oh no," squeaked Flora from behind me.

I whirled around and the first things that caught my eyes were Flora's boobs. Her bikini top was no longer there and she was pressing her hands against her boobs, doing her best to shield them (but that was impossible since they were so big). "WHERE'D YOUR SWIM SUIT GO?" I asked a little too loudly.

The people surrounding us all turned to stare. "I-I don't know! Hel-help me find it," stammered Flora, frozen.

"Looking for this?" taunted a voice. Right behind Flora was Stormy, and she was dangling something in the air.

Shit. Flora's bikini top.

"You want it? Then come get it!" laughed Stormy. And with that, she ran away.


	12. Spirit Day, Part 2

**A/N: OH MY GOSH! I LITERALLY GOT 8 STORY FOLLOWERS FROM ONE CHAPTER. I'M SO EXCITED! AND YES, THERE WILL TOTALLY BE MORE DARCY X RIVEN. I apologize. This is one of my shorter chapters but I didn't have a lot of time...**

* * *

Man, no one could pay me all the money in the world to be a track star. This shit was _tiring._

"Hahaha! Catch me if you can, loser!" laughed Stormy over her shoulder as she zipped through the crowds with super agility, waving around Flora's bikini.

When I caught that bitch, I was gonna beat the shit out of her without question. Wheezing and swearing under my breath, I ran as fast as I could through the masses of people, struggling to keep Stormy in my sight. How the hell was she going so fast? It had to her wind powers in play, because it was humanly impossible for anything (not counting a cheetah and my aunt at the mall when there's a sale) to go that fast.

But I had wind powers too, so why wasn't I going at hyper speed? Realizing I didn't stand a chance against the witch, I finally slowed to a stop so I could catch my breath. After I caught my breath, I looked around to see Stormy had completely disappeared. Oh no. Flora was not going to be pleased…

And speaking of Flora, I'd better go check on the chick. Who knew what condition the poor thing was in. She was probably beating herself up for something stupid-ass Stormy did. Poor girl...

* * *

When I slowly opened the bathroom door, I greeted by the sound soft, muffled sobs. "Flores?" I called gently, slowly proceeding into the cold bathroom. All of the stalls were empty besides for the one all the way in back."C'mon, Flores. You can't stay in there forever," I pointed out as I neared the closed stall. "I have a towel you can wrap yourself in."

The stall opened just enough so I could see Flora's teary green eye. "Y-you don't understand," she sniffled sadly, "I-I was out in the open with-without my top on. I feel so… _nasty_."

Her innocence nearly broke my heart like my mother's water when it was time to deliver my little sister. "Flores, just because you were somewhat naked in public doesn't make you a whore." Well, it kind of did when I thought about it, but I wasn't gonna say that aloud and hurt her feelings even more. "Your bikini was just too small. That's it. It's not like you were purposely strip teasing in the middle of the pool just for the hell of it."

The girl didn't say anything.

"Besides, no one really saw it happen." That was a lie. While Flora had been busy panicking over her exposed upper half, I spotted at least _five_ guys snapping pics of her. "You could step outside right now and no one would even know you had a… _mishap_. Just put the towel on and come on outside."

"B-but people will st-stare," stammered Flora.

"No, they won't. We're in the water park, remember? _Everybody's_ got a towel. When they look at you, they'll just think you got cold or something. It's no big deal, really. Now, stop being so paranoid."

"O-okay." Flora stuck her hand out of the narrow opening. I handed her the towel and stepped back as she opened the stall. The poor girl was holding the towel around her upper half like her life depended on it.

"I'm sure we'll find your top," I promised her, patting her on the back. "And if we don't, we can always buy one. Sure, it won't match but who cares?"

Flora managed a weak smile. "Okay. Thanks for trying to make me feel better. You're a true friend."

And at that moment, my heart skipped a beat. Flora, one of my favorite Winx girls, just called me a _friend._ Like an I-know-you friend. Even after all these weeks in the universe of the Winx Club, I _still_ got a kick out of hanging out with them, though it was starting to feel normal. Yet, at the same time it felt like a dream. It was kind of hard to explain.

"No problem. Now let's hurry and get back to the water park," I suggested. Flora nodded and followed me out of the bathroom. Bloom and Musa were waiting for us outside.

"Flora, are you okay?" asked Bloom with concern, looking the girl up and down. "Stella said she saw you rush into the bathroom crying."

Wow, what a bum. Stella saw how distressed Flora was, yet didn't bother help her or see what was wrong. "A certain witch of storms stole her top," I informed, frowning at the remembrance of loosing Stormy.

Musa looked annoyed. "Seriously, why can't the Trix just leave us alone for once? We don't want or have anything to do with them."

"Let's forget about them," I spoke up, clapping my hands together. "So where are the guys?"

"We're right here," announced a voice that made me want to zap something all the way to Oblivion. We all turned to see Harry, Miller, and Liam approaching us with cool-cat expressions stretching across their faces. Flora squeaked and hid behind me, probably embarrassed to be breathing the same air with a guy without a top on.

"What do you dumbasses want?" I asked harshly, not wanting to entertain them or their extreme perviness.

"I thought I'd see you here." Miller winked at me. "So what have you been up to, sweetheart?" His flipped his brown mop out of his face, making me growl defensively.

"And Flora. Why are you hiding from me?" Liam matched Miller's overconfident smile and aimed it at Flora, who was now quivering behind me. "Aren't you happy to see me again?"

Bloom and Musa just stood there, choosing to remain silent either because they had nothing to do with this or didn't want to risk being pulled into things and become targeted by the Three Angry Ex-Girlfriends.

"H-hi," stammered Flora shyly.

"Let's go, Flores. We don't need scum like them," I insisted, turning around and pushing the girl away.

"It was nice seeing you again," called Miller smoothly from behind as the four of us put some distance between us and them.

"You know, you probably can't avoid them forever," pointed out Bloom, "life is full of twists and surprises and you might end up running into them again."

I _knew_ we were, but didn't want to think about that now. "Who cares? We're here to have fun, not sulk and sigh over a bunch of womanizers who tried to make us their next victims," I countered, thinking of the Three Angry . Boy, did their breakups fuck them up. I'd be damned if I _ever_ lost my mind over some punk-ass man.

"Are you guys talking about us?" teased Sky (Brandon), suddenly appearing out of nowhere with Brandon (Sky).

"Wait, what?" Bloom raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing." Brandon (Sky) shoved Sky (Brandon). "We were just looking for you. We couldn't find you at the water park, so we figured something must've happened."

"The water park! Can we please just go back there?" I begged in annoyance, "we're wasting time here and we don't have all day."

"Speaking of the water park, how about we try the new ride?" suggested Sky (Brandon) devilishly, "I heard everyone who rides it will be-" I stopped paying attention to him when I spotted a glint of pink out of the corner of my eye. I turned around and looked up to see—

"No they didn't," I growled, looking up at the flagpole.

Flora, who apparently noticed it as well, was frozen. Her face was blank, but I knew what she was thinking. "Guys, what is it?" asked Bloom alertly, looking around. "Are the Trix up to no good again? Should we—" She stopped short when she noticed it, too. "Oh no," was all she could manage.

At the top of the flagpole was none other than Flora's tiny pink bikini top, blowing in the afternoon breeze under the flag of Magix. Loud snickering caught my attention, and that's when I noticed _Riven_ was standing directly at the flagpole with the Trix, looking up at his work.

OH **HELL** NO! "Hey, isn't that Flora's…" Brandon (Sky) trailed off, glancing at Flora. It took one look at her towel for his face to go red. " _Oh_."

Fuck, no. I _wasn't_ having this. Feeling enraged, I stomped over to them. "Yo, what's the meaning of this?" I erupted at them, readying to pull some hair.

"Oh, look. If it isn't the little pathetic fairy I beat," taunted Stormy, putting her hands on her hips and smirking at me. "What are you doing here? Hoping to avenge your worthless friend?"

I could barely speak, but I was able to spit out a warning. "Bitch, one of you better get your ass up there and give that back," I managed, boiling with anger from top to bottom. I couldn't help but notice the crowds forming behind me. Everyone was staring and pointing up at Flora's bikini top. Some were laughing, others were hissing in disgust, and some outright looked like they didn't give a damn.

"Oh please. This is hardly our problem," insisted Darcy calmly, latching on to Riven's arm again. "It's the nature girl's fault this happened. If she wasn't trying to be so-"

"Slutty," insulted Stormy with a smirk.

"-none of this wouldn't have ever happened," finished Darcy coolly, looking proud of all the attention we were getting.

I was seething now. "I can't believe you!" I hollered in Riven's face. "The hell's your problem?!"

He pushed me away in disgust. "Whatever. Like Darcy said, this isn't our fault. If anything, blame the flower girl. If she wasn't wearing such a small top, it wouldn't have come off."

Hidden within the masses of people, I heard Flora whimpering. Though it was nearly drowned out by the dozens of other voices, I could hear her clearly. Overhead, the sky began to darken with thick black clouds as if to emphasize Flora's sadness and embarrassment.

And to be honest, I felt super sorry for her. All around us, guys and girls were snapping pictures, laughing about, and making rude, mean, and aggressive comments about the "slut" who thought this was funny. And just hearing them talk all this shit about my friend made me want to unleash a whirlwind on them all. I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth. It wasn't fair! It wasn't right!

"Don't act all innocent!" barked Musa, stepping forward beside me. I nodded at her, thankful for her support. It relieved me just a little to have someone else step out for poor Flora.

"Yeah! This isn't her fault at all!"Bloom appeared to my right, looking just as pissed.

"Oh, whatever. This is so pathetic," insisted Icy with a rude laugh, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Is this supposed to be entertaining or something? You fairies don't even know how to defend your own friend."

That's it. I was about to throw myself at her, but I held myself back when the authorities and a few members of the schools' staffs showed up. "Alright, what's the meaning of this?" asked Ms. Faragonda calmly, appearing in front of the masses of people with her hands clasped behind her back. Palladium, who was standing beside her, shook his head disappointedly at the flagpole, his face turning red at the sight of the bikini top.

Faragonda calmly looked at me and then Riven and the Trix. She probably already knew what— _who_ the problem was, but was just giving everyone a chance to explain themselves. "These dumbasses stole Flora's top and tied it to the pole," I said through gritted teeth, not caring that I was cussing to an official's face.

"Now hold on! We didn't do anything like that," protested Icy, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at me hardly. "She's _lying_."

I wanted to throw a rock at her.

Bloom looked like she wanted to roll Icy over with a Mack truck and Musa was so mad, she was sputtering nonsense.

"Bitch, you straight up _stole_ her top and ran away with it," I barked at Stormy as thunder rumbled in the sky above. "I literally chased you through the whole motherfucking park!"

Stormy looked offended and let out a sound of disgust. I glanced over my shoulder. Even through the crowds, I could see Flora hidden behind the bodies of our unsuspecting classmates. At least no one knew the bikini top was hers.

Okay, forget Icy. It was _Stormy_ I wanted to beat the shit out of. "You _lie_!" I hissed at her, gearing up for a fight. I didn't hear that I standing in the headmistress' presence. I wanted going to let this witch get away with what she did.

I shot a hate glare at Riven. "And you! You're the one who put the damned bikini up there in the first place! This is _your_ fault!"

I expected Riven to start cussing me out. But he didn't. Instead, he reached out and _shoved_ me. Hard, too. I staggered backwards a bit. When I regained balance of myself, I glowered at him. I was about to return the shove, but Faragonda stepped in front of me.

"That's enough," she said calmly. She looked at the Trix and Riven with an unchanging expression. "There are plenty of video camera around here, and if you're willing to prove your innocence, we could ask to review the footage."

And just as Faragonda probably anticipated, the Trix and their little lapdog drew back like cowards. "Whatever. We're out of here," spat Icy, not looking at Faragonda as she and Stormy stomped away, pushing people out of their way.

I glanced at Riven, somewhat hoping he'd own up to things. Instead, he turned away and spat. "Whatever. We're out of here," he growled. Without saying a word, Faragonda and I stepped aside so they could take their leave.

There was silence as we watched them disappear amongst the others. "That's right! Run, you little fuckers!" I shouted, "run back to that dump you call Cloud Tower! We don't need your shi-"

"Acadia, that is enough," interrupted Faragonda levelheadedly, turning to peer at me through her glasses. She looked at me, Bloom, and Musa. "I'm disappointed in you girls, too." Bloom looked down at her feet with shame, and Musa crossed her arms and pressed her lips together

I was too stunned to even react right away." _Why_!?" I demanded a little too rudely.

"As fairies, I expect you to handle situations calmly and respectfully. Fighting over such small matters is hardly necessary. Yes, I know you were only protecting your friend, but another approach to the situation would've been better."

I opened my mouth to make a disrespectful remark, but nothing came out. Deep down, I knew she was right. Here we were, arguing and making a scene like typical teenage girls when eventually, we'd be fighting over things far more important, like the existence of Magix for one.

"Your anger will get the best of you," said Faragonda, looking at me sternly. "And if you let it, it will one day consume you. Learn to control it, and you will unlock your inner potential. The one your attitude keeps you from." And with those words, she walked away with Palladium and the other adults.

The unsatisfied crowds began to disband, but I just stood there. Faragonda's words lingered in the air, causing me to growl.

Whatever.

"I'll get Flora's bikini," volunteered Musa lowly, her wings and fairy outfit replacing her swim suit. Though she wouldn't openly admit it, I knew she was bummed out about Riven and how he willingly helped and lied for the Trix.

"Th-thank you."

I turned around to see a quivering towel-wrapped Flora standing behind me. "I-I didn't mean to make so much trouble."

I wanted to cry. Poor Flora thought all of this was her fault, when it wasn't. I swallowed and nodded. There was a brief moment of silence before Flora suddenly burst into tears.

And the sky wept with her.


	13. Glorious Beach Day! Part 1

The second we made it to the beach, I knew the day was gonna be _lit._

The beach was a blaze of parasols, hot colours to match the burning sand underfoot. Against the percussion of the waves was the laughter, coming in bursts and rolling like the ocean. The water was crystal blue, the sky was clear and sunny, and the weather was cool. In other words: it was a perfect beach day.

"Woohoo! Let's hit the water!" cheered Sky (Brandon), jogging down the sidewalk towards the beach. From the sandy hill the portal had taken us to, we could see everything. Running along the wide beach was the boardwalk city, complete with palm trees and a huge amusement park.

Stella gave a pleased sigh. "It's good to be back home," she said, putting on her sunshades.

"So, what are we going to do first?" asked Bloom excitedly. Like the rest of us girls, she was wearing a thin sundress over her swim suit and a pair of cute flip flops.

"Let's do some swimming first," suggested Flora (who I might add was wearing a bikini that actually fit this time), smiling sweetly. "The water looks refreshing." Thankfully, she'd gotten over the fiasco from yesterday and was back to her normal, sweet state.

"Oh, uh, I was just going to take a stroll around on the boardwalk," stammered Timmy, his face turning red. Like the other two Specialists, he was dressed in bright swimming trunks but instead of going around bare-chested, he sported a thin plain tank top. He didn't have to tell us why he didn't want to go to the beach because we all already knew; he didn't feel comfortable walking among a bunch of chicks in tiny, exposing bikinis. Typical nerd.

"Oh, I'll join you. I don't really do well in places this crowded," volunteered Tecna, taking her handheld out of her pocket. "I actually wanted to talk to you about this newest app that just came out…" And with that, the two started towards the boardwalk while in deep conversation about their phones and junk.

"Lettme guess. The Bitch Lover didn't want to come," I inferred as the rest of us made our way towards the beach.

"Riven was still in _bed_ when we left," corrected Brandon (Sky), sliding on his sunshades. "We didn't feel like waking him so…"

"It's best he didn't come anyway," scowled Musa, "so we won't have to hear him and his stupid new girlfriend."

"Who gives a shit about them," I said, rolling my eyes as we stepped onto the soft sand. "At least now we don't have to-" All I saw a flying white orb and—

 _BAM!_

Next thing I knew, I was lying on my side in the sand, my nose bleeding and a volleyball right there at my head. OH C'MON!

"Oopsie! My bad!" giggled the sickening voice. As Brandon and Sky helped me up, Mira skipped over. "I'm just not very good at this sport yet," she explained with another giggle.

I had two options: walk away and ignore her or SLAP THAT MOTHERFUCKER INTO NEXT WEEK! "Listen up, fucker," I hissed, approaching her like a cat readying to pounce, "I don't know what the hell's your problem but you better back the fuck off before I _really_ come for your ass."

Mira clicked her tongue. "A bitch like you isn't capable of anything but stealing a girl's man. In fact, I'm surprised you still haven't jumped ship on these losers," she insulted, rolling her eyes at Sky and Brandon. "They must be easy or something."

"She's got you there, Sky," chuckled Brandon (Sky), slapping his buddy on the back.

"Haha, very funny."

"Don't you have other things to do with your bitch squad?" I snapped at her.

"Watch who you're talking to," hissed Mira, getting so close to me, I could smell her minty breath. "The girls and I still want revenge for what you and you're little man-izers did to us."

"Give us your best shot, mate," I hissed back.

We had an intense stare-off for a few moments until Brandon (Sky) finally decided to break it up. "O-kay, how about we go ahead and have some fun?" he suggested, grabbing my shoulders and pulling me away. "I think they're playing beach ball over there…."

As soon as we made enough distance between us and Mira, I started to calm down. How could I not be? The soft sand felt nice between my toes, the sun's rays were peacefully floating and resting on the warm waters, and all my friends were here with me to help me enjoy this nice weather. What more could I want?

While the others all separated to do their own things, I took the liberty of walking along the coastline. The fresh salty airs tickled my nose and light kisses from the occasional breeze sent tingling sensations through me. Yep, this was going to be a perfect day. And nothing could—

I froze the second I spotted them, my mouth hanging open and my eyebrows raised in disgust. Not that far from me—about a few meters—Riven was lying on his stomach on a bright pink beach towel. Hold up, it got weirder. _Darcy_ was standing on his knees beside him, smearing lotion on his back. The _fuck?_

"Yo, Riven!" I called, storming across the sand over to them.

Riven lifted his head and the second his eyes landed on me, his hissed. "What do _you_ want?" he scowled up at me.

"Don't you wanna wear gloves?" I asked Darcy slowly, raising an eyebrow. "You might contract something."

"Haha, very funny, fairy." Darcy rolled her eyes and kept massaging her boyfriend's (*shudder*) back.

"I'm telling you, Icy. They just won't stop following us," hissed Stormy's voice. I whirled around to see the other two Trix sisters glaring at me with their hands on their hips. They sported dark-colored bikinis and even darker sunshades.

"Well, well, well. I didn't think you withes would show up today, considering that it's a known fact witches melt in the sun," I hissed back.

"Why you!" Stormy reached out to grab my hair, but I shoved her away. We were about to have a real fight but stopped when one of the lifeguards passed by, sending us _you-fuckers-better-straighten-up_ look.

"Look, guys. Why can't we just get along?" asked Flora sweetly, appearing between me and Stormy. "We're supposed to be having fun, not fighting."

"The heck's wrong with you, Flora? They're _witches_ and we're fairies! We're mortal enemies!" I snapped at her, "yeesh, don't you read?"

"For once, I agree with this troll," scowled Stormy, "it's instinct for fairies and witches to compete. And for you to not see that must mean-"

"Flora! Hey, Flora!" called Sky (Brandon), running across the beach over to us.

"The fuck does he want?" seethed Riven, quickly jumping to his feet. "And why can't you dumbasses leave me alone for once?"

"What is it, Sky?" Flora titled her head and smiled widely at him.

"You can thank me for this later, but I signed you up for one of the activities today," informed Sky (Brandon), smiling proudly and trying hard not to look at Flora's chest. To be honest, when you thought about it, he _would_ be the pervert of Winx Club. Though being a kid's show, it was kind of obvious he had a thing for the ladies.

"How sweet of you. Which one?" asked Flora kindly.

"The swim suit competition," replied Sky (Brandon), looking even more proud of himself. "There's no way you can lose."

I facepalmed and Stella, who had been watching us (well, specifically Sky (Brandon), gasped as if she was offended. I rolled my eyes at him. So what he basically just said was: "you have big boobs, and who doesn't love boobs?"

Icy smirked. "Well, that was stupid. Your little group of fairy friends are just barely above average," she insulted (I think?), shaking her head. "No way she'll win."

"Oh…I…uh…" stammered Flora as if searching for something nice to say. It was kind of obvious she didn't want a part of the competition (especially after what happened yesterday) but of course, she was far too nice to tell that to Sky's (Brandon's) face.

"Tch, whatever. I could win that competition in my sleep," boasted Stormy, fluffing her storm-cloud hair.

"You wish. You ain't got nothing to show," I countered, looking down at her nearly flat chest.

"No, _I_ could win that competition," exclaimed Stella, marching over to us angrily. She sent a mean look at Sky (Brandon), and then glowered at Flora (specifically her big boobs). "I _am_ a princess after all. There's no way the judges will be able to resist me."

Oh boy. I could already tell where this was going…. I looked around for Bloom, Brandon (Sky), or Musa so they could break the fight up, but they were nowhere to be seen. I could always stop things, but you know me. I honestly loved a good cage fight.

"Is that a challenge?" snapped Stormy, getting all up in Stormy's face.

"What if it is?" growled Stella, matching the witch's aggressive stance.

"How about _both_ of you sign up?" I suggested for Sky (Brandon), "and whoever wins gets bragging rights." Though to be honest, Stella was gonna brag anyway.

"Fine," snorted Stormy and Stella in unison, sending each other another _I'm-gonna-kick-your-ass_ look. "Where do we sign up?" they both demanded of Sky (Brandon).

"Over by the coolers," replied Sky (Brandon) happily, "they have a whole bunch of signup sheets for all kinds of competitions and activities. I think Bloom and Brandon were signing up for the sand castle competition…"

"Hey, why don't we sign up for that, too?" Darcy asked Riven, latching onto his arm and rubbing her face against his bare skin.

"No way. I don't do that kind of stuff," spat Riven, looking away with a tough-guy expression.

"But if we win, we can prove to Brandon and the rest of your friends that you aren't the loser they all think you are," cooed Darcy, her voice sickeningly sweet.

Tch, it was gonna take a lot more than a stupid sand castle for Riven to win me over, but what the hell ever.

Riven thought about it for a moment and frowned even deeper. "Fine. But only because I wanna beat that chump," he said harshly. I wanted to insult the soul out of his ass, but I stayed quiet as the couple followed after Stormy and Stella.

Flora, who was still surprised by Sky's (Brandon's) announcement, just stood there staring into open space. This was good for me. I didn't want her to hear what I was about to propose. "Yo, Icy," I said, turning around to face her. "Feel like making a little bet with me?" I was kinda low of cash and _somebody_ still owed me twenty dollars so I had to take any opportunity that presented itself.

"What kind of bet?" Icy narrowed her eyes at me.

"Oh, it's nothing too fancy," I informed casually with a shrug, "just a little wager on who's going to win the swim suit competition."

Icy smirked. "In that case, I'm game. I'll bet twenty dollars on that pesky little blond friend of yours."

Stella? For real? Boy, Icy was stupider than I thought. "And I'll place mine on Flora," I announced happily. I snorted back a laugh. "May the best girl win." I spat in my hand and held it out or her to shake.

"You're out of your mind," jeered Icy, looking at my saliva-coated hand in disgust.

"Fine." I held out my dry hand instead.

"You're so gonna lose," taunted Icy as we shook. "The flower girl doesn't have a chance. So long, fairy." And with that, Icy held her chin high and sauntered away.

Well, I just made twenty dollars. No way in heck Stella was going to win instead of Flora. Sure, there was a good chance another girl could win but when it came to chest size, Flora had nearly everyone beat. And if the judgers were guys, the competition was as good as Flora's.

"Cadey! Cadey!" Musa's voice pulled me out my thoughts of victory.

"'Sup, Musa," I nodded at her.

"I heard there's a sand castle competition in a few hours," said Musa excitedly, "wanna be my teammate? Bloom and Brandon have already signed up, and I'm sure Tecna and Timmy won't want to."

Hell, why not? Bloom, Brandon (Sky), Darcy, and Riven were going to compete, so why not become a part of the action? "Sign me up," I declared confidently.

"Sweet! I'll go do that. By the way, what's wrong with Flora?" The music fairy raised an eyebrow at Flora, who was still standing there staring at nothing.

"Sky signed her up for the bikini competiton," I explained, "Stella and Stormy are signing up, too."

Musa wrinkled her nose. "Competitions like that are stupid. It only makes girls feel insecure about themselves and that they have to look like everybody else. I can see why Flora wouldn't want to be a part of it."

I totally agreed with her but hey! I wasn't going to be participating in it, so…. Besides, I _needed_ Flora to be in this thing for the sake of my twenty dollars. Flora was an independent girl and wouldn't let some stupid-ass irrelevant bullshit like that change her outlook on things. Hopefully.

* * *

"Hey, how about we get some ice cream?" I asked as a devilishly idea sparked into existence in my mind. Stella and I were sauntering through the boardwalk town, while the others were back on the beach playing volleyball or whatever.

"No way. I can't eat anything until _after_ the competition," insisted Stella, holding her chin high. "I might get bloated or something."

I eyed the ice cream vendor again. "Oh, c'mon!" I whined, "just one tiny scoop won't hurt you. Besides, it's hot out. You'll burn it off well before the competition."

"No can do." Stella shook her head stubbornly. "Seriously, you don't know anything about being a model. In the fashion business, your figure means everything."

For a second, I felt bad for her but that guilt immediately faded. "In that case, you _definitely_ need ice cream," I informed her, "ice cream is full of diary, which has estrogen. And estrogen makes your boobies bigger. That and it's also very fatty, and will also make your boobs look bigger."

"Really?" Stella eyed me suspiciously.

I almost told her to Google it, but then I remembered that probably didn't exist in this universe. "Absolutely," I assured her with a nod, "estrogen is a natural and primary female hormone. If anything will make you bigger up top, it's estrogen." _Thank you, health class._

Stella thought it over for a moment and then sighed loudly. "Fine. But just _one_ scoop, okay?"

 _Yes!_ I worked out the next parts of my plan in my head as we made our way over to the ice cream vendor. "One scoop of vanilla on a waffle cone, please," I told the vendor. Stella was about to place her order, but I interrupted her. "Hey, is that vendor selling the latest at reasonably low prices?" I gasped, looking over my shoulder.

And as planned, Stella took the bait. " _Where_?!" she exclaimed, whirling around.

While she was occupied, I leaned in closer to the vendor. "She'll take a scoop of pistachio on a plain cone," I whispered to him. He gave me a thumbs up and opened up his cooler.

" You must have missed it," I lied as Stella turned back around, obviously disappointed. "I'm sure you'll see it later. And don't worry; I already ordered for you."

"I better. I hate missing a sale," said Stella grumpily as the two of us paid for our ice creams. Stella wrinkled her nose as the vendor handed over her ice cream cone. "What's this?" she asked as we started away.

"Lime," I lied, "I didn't want to get you anything _too_ fatty." See, this was the deal: I knew Stella was somewhat allergic to pistachios, so I needed her to eat the ice cream so she'd break out in bumps or something so she couldn't compete in the contest. Evil, I know. But I needed to secure my victory.

"I don't know. It smells a little… _nutty_ ," scowled Stella, observing it closely. "Are you sure?"

Oh shit. I was about to lie again, but I was thrown off when a trio of young men got in our way. "Well, well, well. Just the girls I was looking for," said Miller, looking the both of us up and down with a perverted look.

Double oh shit. "Back off, bro," I warned, forgetting all about my elaborate scheme. "In case you haven't noticed, we don't want you."

"That's not what you were saying the night of that party," smirked Miler.

"Where's Flora?" asked Harry, looking around expectantly. "We have unfinished business."

"Don't go anywhere near her," I snapped at him, "she doesn't want anything to do with you either. It's obvious you guys don't remember why we hate you in the first place, so let me refresh your memory: you'll are womanizers."

"Jeez, that hurt," pouted Miller, grinning tauntingly. "You're so mean, Acadia."

"If you wanna see Flora, then come to the bikini competition on the beach later," said Stella flirtatiously, winking at Harry like she was sexy or something. "The both of us are competing so if you wanna see more of us, that's definitely the place to go."

I facepalmed. Leave it to Stella to ruin things.

"A bikini competition, huh? Like hell I'll be there." Liam winked back. "I don't wanna miss out on the beach babes."

"You're looking at one," insisted Stella, strutting a little "sexy" pose.

" _Miller_!" shouted a voice. We all turned to See Mira marching over with a _I'm-bout-to-murder-some-bitch_ look on her face. Grreeaaaatttt. Her again. "WHY ARE YOU STILL HANGING OUT WITH THIS BITCH!" she raged at Miller, pointing at me.

"Uh, last time I checked, he already broke up with you," I joked rudely. Apparently, Mira didn't catch the insult.

"For the last time, Mira. We're through. I can see other people," said Miller carelessly, brushing Mira off.

"No you can't! You're _my_ man!" Mira stomped a foot angrily "Mine, mine, mine, _mine_!"

I didn't know whether to laugh or feel sorry for her. "Just move on, Mira," I said in the softest tone I could force, "Miller's not worth your time."

"SHUT UP! YOU'RE JUST SAYING THAT SO YOU CAN HAVE HIM!" Mira yelled at me, her eyes wild and deranged.

"Oh, puh-leez. Grow up," sassed Stella, twirling her hair around a finger and rolling her eyes up at the sky. "So what if he's with Acadia now?"

"Wait. This is Acadia's _boyfriend_?" said a disgusted voice.

Triple oh shit.

Within seconds, Stormy was latched on to Miller's arm like a bloodthirsty leech. "Hey there, big boy," she giggled, rubbing under his chin like he was a puppy or something. I facepalmed again. Stormy obviously thought Miller and I were a couple and being the witch she was, she was going to try to "break" us up just for the heck of it.

"GET. YOUR. HANDS. OFF. MY. _MAN!"_ Poor Mira reached out faster than we could react and pulled Stormy's hair by her lightning bang.

Quadruple oh shit.

"Oh, I _know_ you did not just go there!" Stormy yelled at Mira, gearing up to fight. "You're going to pay for that!"

"Ladies, ladies. There's no reason to fight," said Miller freshly, stepping in between the girls. "There's enough of me for all three of you."

This was literally my face right now: -.-

"Someone done told you wrong, buddy," I hissed, "I don't want any of you."

"Oh, stop lying, baby." Miller made a kissy face at me. "You know you love me."

Stormy let out a sound of disgust. "Why would you want _her_ when you can have _this_?" she smirked, striking the exact pose Stella just struck.

"Because you're unattractive," I said bluntly.

"What did you just say?" Stormy clenched her fists and glared at me hardly. "You're asking for it, _fairy."_

"You wanna go, mate?" I snapped at her.

"Oh, hell no! _I'm_ the one you should be worried about," interfered Mira angrily. She and Stormy smashed their heads together, growling and hissing at each other.

Stella yawned. "C'mon, Cadey. Let's go before it gets late," she suggested boredly. Mira whirled around to bark at her, but Stella nipped everything in the bud by flinging her ice cream on Mira's bikini.

While Stormy laughed and Mira gasped, Stella grabbed my arm and pulled me away. "I can't stand those girls," she muttered under her breath, "they're always ruining things for us."

I nodded, but I was inwardly swearing. Little did Stella know that _she_ was the one to ruins things for me. Looks like I was going to have to come up with something else….

 **Plan #2**

"Look at them over there," scowled Musa, glancing over at Riven's and the Trix's table for the umpteenth time. It was around noon and we were all having lunch on the boardwalk. "How can he even stand to be that close to a witch?"

"Maybe because she's his girlfriend?" I suggested, rolling my eyes at Musa's obvious (I use that would a lot, don't I?) jealousy. "Love works in weird ways."Musa, who was sitting across from me, gave me a _shut-your-ass-up_ look. I countered it with a _make-me_ expression.

"I don't see what the problem is. I've been with plenty of witches," chuckled Sky (Brandon), stuffing his face with French fries. "They aren't that bad once you get past the dark makeup, the lacey clothes—actually, that's kind of sexy-"

Stella pushed her plate away from her, frowning with disgust. "I can't eat," she insisted, finger combing her hair again. "The competition's in an hour and I need to watch my figure. One of you get it."

I wanted to shoot something. C'MON, WOMAN! Before we all sat down, I'd been sure to sneak laxatives into the cheesy insides of Stella's grilled cheese sandwich. The plan was—more like had been—to get the squirts right before the competitions so she couldn't compete. But it was obvious THAT WASN'T HAPPENING NOW.

"Don't mind if I do," chuckled Brandon (Sky), helping himself to Stella's sandwich. "I need all my strength for the sand castle competition."

Quintuple oh shit.

I cringed as I watched the blond happily much on Stella's sandwich. He was fucked up for sure.

"Tsk, it's not gonna matter," giggled Musa, "Acadia and I are gonna kick you and Bloom's ass."

"Damn straight!" I agreed.

"I wish all of you good luck," smiled Flora sweetly, carefully tearing the crusts off her sandwich.

Stella snorted at her "ignorance". "You don't think like a model at all. No way you'll win if you gorge yourself like that."

"But I haven't even started eating!"

"I honestly think the swim suits competition is stupid," commented Brandon (Sky) between a mouthful of grilled cheese. "Who cares about chicks in bikinis anyway?"

"Uh, I do." Sky (Brandon) knitted his eyebrows at his buddy. Apparently, he wasn't the only one who thought Brandon (Sky) was nutty. The other guys at the surrounding tables gave him _you-stupid_ and _you-must-be-gay_ looks.

"I'm just trying to say it's not about a girl's figure or her looks," reasoned Brandon (Sky), "it's about her heart."

Bloom smiled at him and nodded, but she apparently was one of the only ones who felt like that. Stella let out a sound of disgust and someone even chucked an empty soda can at Brandon's (Sky's) head.

"Hey, speaking of girls, has anyone seen Tecna and Timmy?" questioned Musa, raising an eyebrow.

"They're probably hitting it off at that hotel downtown," I insisted, chewed food flying out of my mouth and landing on Stella.

"I doubt it. Timmy's too modest," said Sky (Brandon), "he's sixteen and hasn't even touched a girl's-"

 _SPLAT!_

Next thing we all knew, a cream pie was sliding down Sky's (Brandon's) face. A few tables away, Stormy was laughing and pointing at him in a taunting matter.

Oh sextuple shit. It was finna get real.

"Oh, _hell_ no." Next thing we knew, Stella was reaching over and grabbing Flora's sandwich off her tray. Seconds later, it was soaring through the air towards Stormy. But instead of hitting the witch of storms, the sandwich landed on _Riven's_ face.

OH SEPTUPLE SHIT.

The Long Wolf stood up and scanned the crowd like a predator looking for its prey. When his landed on his, they narrowed and a huge scowl spread across his face. Without saying a word, he seized some random dude's plate and hurled the whole thing towards us (specifically me).

I ducked just in time, causing the food to fly past me. When I heard another splat behind me and Mira's giggly scream, I knew we were even more fucked up.

"You did that on purpose, you jerk!" she screamed at me when I dared to turn around and look at her. She grabbed the energy drink she had been drinking and splashed it all over me.

Everyone turned in their seat to stare at us. We all exchanged looks.

And less than a second later, we were all up hurling and chucking food at each other.


	14. Glorious Beach Day! Part 2

"I can't believe this," whined Stella, picking another dried noodle out of her hair. "The competition's in _fifteen_ minutes! I can't go out on stage looking like _this_!"

To be honest, unlike the rest of us, Stella only had a few crinkly old spaghetti noodles stuck to her head. Meanwhile, everyone else was coated in white sticky shit and green vegan glop. Yep, the food fight had gotten out hand _real_ quick. The teachers and officials had to break up the party before someone got hurt. We're lucky they didn't cancel part-two Spirit Day because of it.

"Don't worry, Stell. That's enough time for you to get ready," assured Bloom loudly, wiping some pink crud off her face. Since the girls' bathroom was so crowded and bustling with activity (unlike the guys, us girls weren't gonna walk around in public with bird-looking shit on us. We had to clean ourselves up pronto), we had to converse loudly amongst each other.

Thankfully, the three Trix sisters had decided to use the other bathrooms (which was "coincidentally" full of witches). The Three Angry Ex-Girlfriends were nowhere to be seen, too. Usually, I wouldn't be so paranoid and girly about this stuff (trust me, I'd been covered in _way worse),_ but when dog-poop smelling shit was dripping down your swim suit, you _had_ to get to the nearest sink and disinfectant.

"Yeah. I'll help you get cleaned up," volunteered Flora with a large, sweet smile. For some beyond freakish reason, she wasn't covered in any food. Not even a teeny-tiny pasta-sauce stain. And come to think about it, she looked more _radiate_ than before. Really, she was _glowing_ with natural youth and beauty. The fuck did that happen, I had no idea.

"Yeah, right. You're just gonna try and ruin my makeup or something so you can sabotage my chances of winning the competition," snapped an aggressively paranoid Stella, growling at Flora's reflection in her mirror. She leaned in closer to it, carefully pulling another noodle out of her blond hair.

I rolled my eyes at her stupidity and pulled another brown paper towel out of its near empty dispenser. Instead of complaining about her paranoia, I decided to complain about Riven instead. "Honestly, why does Riven insist on helping those witches?" I grumbled, wiping my arm off with the towel.

"Why else? Because he's just like them: evil and rotten to the core," snorted Stella. "That's really the only way to put it." Musa growled lightly but didn't disagree.

After we were crud and food-free, we alongside a bunch of others made our way back to the beach. A crowd was gathering before a newly assembled catwalk, meaning the event was about to happen soon.

A tanned blond beach babe on the stage stepped up to the mike. "All contestants please check into the dressing room backstage," he announced in a voice deeper than the Caspian Sea.

"Well, that's my cue," giggled Stella, fluffing her hair again as she followed after Flora, the other beauties, and wannabes towards the stage.

"Well, this certainly is going to be interesting," commented Musa with an eye roll. I nodded in agreement. Flora _had_ to win. My wallet depended on it. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Icy, Darcy, and Riven moving through the crowds. "Ugh, here come the drag team," muttered Musa, looking disgusted. "what are they even doing here?"

"Stormy's competing, remember? Besides, it's not a crime," pointed out Bloom softly.

"Whatever." Musa looked away. She was obviously on edge because Riven was still hanging with the Three Witches of the Wild West. I on the other hand wasn't too concerned. If the Lone Wolf chose to keep a… _questionable_ crowd, that was his problem. Besides, he'd come back around to our side (if he was ever there to begin with) eventually.

Darcy, who happened to notice us, grinned slyly at Musa, stood on her tip toes, cupped Riven's face in her hands, and planted a kiss on his lips. I could _feel_ Musa giving off anger. I placed a hand on her shoulder so she wouldn't leap at the witch like a lion going for a steak. "They aren't worth it," I said lowly, "she's trying to make you jealous. Don't even look at them. It'll lower your chances of getting cancer." (No offense to the people who had it).

"Attention people of Magix! The annual Bikini Beach Babe competition will now begin," announced the tan beach blond over the microphone, "please welcome our first guest, Mira Clutterbuck!"

My mouth dropped open. Not because Mira was competing in the competition, but because her last name was _Clutterbuck._ The fuck did that even mean? Clutterbuck. A few guys behind me snickered, but I didn't. I straight up _laughed out loud_.

Mira _Clutterbuck_ didn't seem to notice us. Instead, she was posing on the stage, trying her best to look sexy. A few people (who were probably trying to be polite) gave her a round of applaud, while the rest of us giggled and chuckled at her last name. It wasn't until she walked off the stage everyone began clapping.

The beach babe announcer, who was standing in the background, announced the next contestant. "Princess Stella-" An airplane droned overhead, drowning out Stella's last name. At the word _princess,_ the crowd applauded and Stella came out from behind the curtain. I rolled my eyes as the girl fluffed up her hair, pursed her lips, and posed dramatically.

"Oh, whatever." I folded my arms across my chest and snorted. "She thinks she's _soo_ hot, right guys-" I stopped when I noticed how Liam was looking up at Stella. His eyes were wide and starry as if he was dazzled by what he was seeing. I facepalmed. Of course. I inched away from him just in case his jealous ex-girlfriend was watching.

After another few moments of blowing kisses at the crowd and posing, Stella disappeared backstage and another model took her place. Just as this happened, my bladder suddenly grew heavy. Shit. I probably shouldn't have drunk those three extra large sodas before coming here.

"I'll be right back," I said to Bloom, turning around. "I gotta take a wee. Call me when Flora comes out." After navigating through the thick crowd, I found the girls' bathroom by the changing rooms. I was about to go in, but paused at the door when I heard soft, grunting voices. It sounded like they were coming from the other side of the building.

"I love you, baby," a deep voice moaned. "Keep going."

OH SHIT. WAS SOMEONE…. I instantly forgot about my full bladder and took out my phone. I giggled devilishly as I started around the small structure. Hehehe! Someone was getting it off, and I was gonna get a pic—

I froze and my mouth dropped open the second I made it to the back. I nearly dropped my phone I was that so shocked. Pressed against the brick wall was Darcy and Riven was pressed against her, kissing her roughly. His pants and underwear were down and Darcy's bikini top was lying on the sand….

OH MOTHERFUCKING SHIT. Before they noticed I was there, I held up my phone and took a quick picture of them. Unfortunately, I forgot to take the flash off. The flash and clicking sound apparently caught the loving couple's attention, because they unlocked their lips and looked my way alertly.

 _I'm dead._

"Uh, hi," I said slowly, giving them a little wave. Usually, I would've been yelling my ass off or taunting them, but I was too surprised to even move.

"Why you little fucker," growled Riven, getting off Darcy and pulling his tighty whities up.

Darcy covered her boobs with her arms and yelled at me. "What's wrong with you?! Why can't you ever stay out of our business?"

That's when I regained my fire. "Hey, I was just going to the bathroom when I heard noises back here!" I fired back as Riven pulled up his trunks next. THE FUCK? WHO WORE UNDERWEAR UNDERNEATH THEIR SWIMMING TRUNKS ANYWAY? NO ONE DOES THAT! And when did Darcy and Riven manage to sneak off back here anyway? I never recalled them leaving the crowd back at the bikini competition…

The second Riven's bottoms were back on, he charged for me. "Come here!" he snapped.

OH NO.

That was when y instincts kicked in. I whirled around and starting running away the fastest I could. "Stay back, fucker!" I yelled over my shoulder at him as we raced across the sand.

"Delete that picture first!" he fired back, gaining more speed.

Huffing and puffing, I sped up too. Shit, I didn't ask for this! I just had to use the bathroom! That's all! It ain't my fault they decided to get it off behind a public bathroom! They basically had been asking for this! Struggling to breath, I forced myself to go even faster.

I didn't bother look back as I ran. I zipped through and around crowds, aiming to lose Riven. After a while, I looked behind my shoulder to see Riven was gone. Feeling relived, I slowed to a stomp and wheezed loudly. Whew. That was close. I almost got caught—

"Got you!" exclaimed Riven, making me startle inches off the ground. He appeared behind me and grabbed my shoulders. "Where is it?" he demanded, squeezing me.

"Get off me!" I growled, trying to shake him off. He tightened his grip on me.

"Listen, you better delete that picture before there's trouble," he growled in my ear, his hot breath tickling my skin. "I'm not joking. I'm not going to go easy on you just because you're a stupid little girl."

"No way! I don't owe you anything! This is _your_ fault if anything," I hissed, "like, seriously man! This is the _beach!_ Someone was bound to see you anyway."

"Shut your ass up and just delete the thing!" Riven was so boiling mad, he was giving off heat.

"I said _no!_ "

"Fine! Have it your way. _I'll_ just do it!" I was about to reach for my cell phone, which was sticking out of my bikini bottom, but Riven beat me. He dug his invading hand _all the way_ down my bikini bottom (I can't help but think about SpongeBob). No, seriously! He went _down-down there_. I even felt his fingers against my—

Apparently, Riven was aware of what he was touching, because he drew back _real_ quick. And the second he leaped back, I sped off away from him. And I didn't stop running until I got back to the bikini competition.

"GUYS!" I yelled, pushing through the crowd in search of my friends. The second I laid eyes on Bloom, I blurted, "RIVEN NEARLY RAPED ME!"

The redhead looked startled, Sky and Brandon raised eyebrows, and Musa just blinked. I was about to explain, but the announcer's voice stopped me. "And our final contestant is Flora-" A little girl squealed somewhere just as he announced Flora's surname. At the calling of her name, Flora came out. The second she stepped foot on the stage, the crowd started to cheer and stomp their feet.

"They acted the complete opposite when that storm witch got on stage," chuckled Sky (Brandon).

DANG IT. I MISSED STORMY? SHOOT. I WANTED TO HAVE MY VIDEO CAMERA READY FOR THAT.

Flora, who seemed surprised by all the cheering, waved shyly and blushed. As she moved a strand of blond hair out of her face, her boobs bounced and I swear I heard someone go _"boing"._ All the boys began to hoot and whistle. Someone even threw some flowers at her.

I could practically hear the other contestants scowling from backstage. They already knew the competition was as good as Flora's. And I think Icy knew it too because when I looked at her gloatingly, she sent me a hate glare.

"Woohoo! Go Flora! We love you!" call-laughed Bloom. The rest of us applauded her for her. Well, everyone except Sky (Brandon). He was looking up at Flora like a groom-to-be gazing lovingly at his soon-to-be-wife as she walked down the wedding aisle.

Oh shit. Could it be…? Sky (who was actually brown-haired Brandon) had a _crush_ on _Flora_? Oh hell. That wasn't right.

Flora waved last time at everyone and blew a sweet kiss before disappearing backstage. Although she was now out of sight, a handful of boys were still hurrahing for her. Oh yeah. I was now twenty dollars richer for sure.

"Alright, everyone! That's the last of our contestants," declared the beach babe announcer, taking center stage. Shit. The _last_ one? Had long had I been gone? Seriously, how did I miss _everyone_? I had literally been gone for only…five minutes? Stupid Riven and Darcy. "Now, it's time for all of you to vote," went on the announcer, pacing around. "You can do that by going over to those tables over there and-"

Before he could even finish, all the boys (Sky (Brandon) included) rushed for the tables, chatting and mumbling about who they thought was the hottest. I was about to follow my follow after my friends, but Musa grasped my shoulder.

"What were you saying about Riven earlier?" she asked lowly, frowning.

Shit. "Uh…um…" I stammered. Would it really be wise to tell a girl that her crush was having "it" with one of her archenemies? Because that was super fucked up. "Oh, nothing. I just saw him getting some ice cream," was the shitty lie that flew out of my lips.

Musa frowned even deeper. "Don't lie to me. What _really_ happened?"

Double shit. I gulped. "I…um…kinda saw Riven and Darcy…."

"Yeah?" Musa stared at me blankly.

"I…saw them…umm….having love."

I turned away from her the second I saw tears well up in her eyes. I felt so guilty. "Don't they know this is a public place? There are kids running around. Th-that's gross," complained Musa, doing her best not to sound hurt.

"I don't think they got _that_ far," I lied quickly, "they were just kissing and Riven had his trunks down…." Shit. They were _totally_ doing it.

"Whatever. It doesn't matter," said Musa, who was now struggling to hold back a sob. "L-let's just go vote for Flora. I don't wanna think about him or the Trix right now." I nodded understandingly, but didn't say anything as we went over to the voting booths.

What had I done? I just crushed Musa's spirits and her hope of being with Riven. This was all my fault. If only I hadn't been noisy or drunken those three large sodas, Musa would be smiling right now. I had to somehow fix things, but I knew it'd be hard.

Hearts weren't like cheap blankets. You couldn't mend them easily. Once damage was done to it, there was no getting rid of it. The wound would stay there forever, scarring and burdening that person forever. That is, until they learned to let it go. But things didn't work like that. Problems didn't simply float away into thin air whenever you wanted it to. The only way to get rid of a burden was to erase it with love.

And that was what I was gonna do.

* * *

"Okay, ladies and gentlemen! It's the moment everyone's been waiting for!" declared the announcer excitedly from the stage, "you casted your votes, they've been tallied, and it's time to announce the winner!"

Everyone cheered, including me. C'mon, Flora! I l glanced over at Icy and she gave an _it-was-nice-beating-you_ look. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Some people never learned. I just shook my head.

Another beach babe climbed up onto the stage and handed the announcer a slip of paper. We all held out breath as the announcer unfolded it. "And the winner of this year's Bikini Beach Babe competition is…"

 _Flora, Flora, Flora, Flora!_ Deep down, I knew every other guy in the crowd was chanting her name, too.

"Princess Stella of-" Someone sneezed right as he was about to give Stella's last name.

My mouth dropped open like someone else's. No one said anything as Stella skipped from backstage, waving and blowing kissing. We were all trying to figure out what just happened.

"I didn't vote for that dumbass," mumbled a deep voice from behind. Afterwards, the whole crowd became abuzz.

"I didn't vote for her either!"

"I voted for the last contestant. Flora-"

"ACHOO!"

Stella, who seemed panicked by everyone's confusion, could just stand and stammer, completely flustered. Me on the other hand? I knew _exactly_ what happened. "Icy!" I erupted, pushing past some guys and stomping over to the witch of ice. "You tampered with the votes!" I shouted, pointing an accusing finger at her.

Icy crossed her arms, snorted, and lifted her chin high. "Yeah, right. She's a waste of magic."

"No, you wanted to win the bet so you cheated!" I snapped.

"Wait. What bet?" piped up Bloom confusedly.

The announcer laughed nervously. "It seems we're having a bit of a misunderstanding…"

"There's no misunderstanding, genius. We all voted for Flora," barked a guy from somewhere.

"Did _anyone_ vote for Stella?" wondered aloud another loudly. Only one hand shot up, and it belonged to Liam. Everyone just stared at him.

"Really, bro?" snorted a guy, shaking his head. "Really?"

Funny. Icy wanted Stella to win, but didn't even vote for her?

Stella's mouth dropped open. "S-so I-I didn't win?" she stammered, shaking a little. I kinda felt bad for her, but I wasn't about to lose a bet because of her pride.

"Wait, now hold on, everyone. There's no reason to get unsettled. We'll just have a revote suggested the announcer wisely, "that'll determine the real winner."

I narrowed my eyes at Icy. "I got my eye on you, _witch_. You're not pulling anything on me this time."

"Tch, whatever." Icy looked away as everyone went _back_ to the voting booths. And as I promised, I kept my eye on her as everyone scribbled their votes down.

After more arguing and grumbles, the votes were tallied up _again_ and we all waited for the beach boy to declare the _winner_ again. "Let's do this thing again," he accidentally mumbled over the mike, unfolding the stupid sheet of paper. He took one glance at the name written on it. "Again, the winner is Princess Stella of Solaria."

?!#!

Everyone looked around at each other confusedly and argued amongst one another. Meanwhile, I just stared at the announcer dude. While everyone tried to figure out why Stella won, I studied him closely. He looked too relaxed. Too cool. To unmoved. Something wasn't right about him.

I gasped when he looked Icy's way and nodded at her. Icy, who noticed I was watching, froze as if knowing she had been caught.

OH SHIT NO. WAIT A MOTHERFUCKING SECOND!

I pushed past everyone and hopped up onto the stage. Before he could react, I snatched the paper and looked at it for myself. I wanted to explode when I saw what was _really_ written there. "FOOL, THAT DOESN'T SAY STELLA," I yelled at him, " _THAT SAYS FLORA-_ "

Everyone gasped as I announced Flora's last name. Whoa. So _that_ was her surname. I never would've thought. "WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA, MAN!?" shouted someone from the crowd. Someone threw a soda can at the announcer dude.

"Yeah! Flora won, not Princess Stella!"

"I bet this was rigged from the beginning. Her _Royal Highness_ probably paid him to say she won."

"I-I-I," stammered Stella, shaking. Her face turned bright red when everyone looked up for an explanation. Meanwhile, the announcer was sneaking off the stage while no one was paying attention to him. Eh, let the snake slither away. I'm sure he wasn't gonna get past Icy though…

"Don't worry about it," I said over the microphone, "though all the ladies here today were extremely beautiful, it's about time we acknowledge the _true_ winner, Flora-"

The guys started cheering right as I was giving the rest of Flora's name. A shy-looking Flora slowly emerged from behind the corner, smiling timidly. A few other dudes came on stage and crowned her with a shiny white tiara and handed her a bouquet of flowers. While she was basked with attention and affection, I went over to Stella and hugged her. "Sorry you didn't win," I told her honestly.

"It's okay." Stella smiled back. "It was just a stupid little competition anyway. It didn't really prove or mean anything."

I nodded, squeezing her hand. She finally understood. Hopefully. It didn't take a silly competition to be beautiful. Beauty came from the inside.

And speaking of inside, I really had to pee…..

* * *

"Alright, you ready to do this thing?" I asked, clapping my hands together as I plopped down onto the sand. It was a little later in the afternoon and the sand building competition was about to begin. All around us, the other teams were getting their shovels, pails, and plans together.

I was surprised to see Sky (Brandon) and Flora teaming up by the judges' table. Oh yeah. Sky (Brandon) totally had a crush on Flora…

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Musa shook out of her daze and forced a smile. She'd been watching Riven and Darcy the whole time I was talking. And speaking of the two, the couple was conversing with each other as Darcy drew something in the sand. They were probably strategizing, which was something _we should've been doing…._

"So I was thinking we'd make a replica of Alfea," I said thoughtfully, "yeah, the shape will be a little weird…"

"Yeah. Okay, fine," was Musa's shitty reply, turning to glare at Riven and Darcy again.

*sigh* This is specifically why I'd chosen to be so far away from them. I knew Musa would be staring hell at them the whole time. Yet, even all the way across the beach, Musa was still hating on them. This was going to be a disaster for sure….

Meanwhile, I studied the other teams. Bloom and Brandon (Sky) seemed to be getting along well, Mira and Lilly were sending hate glares at me and Flora, Icy and Stormy were arguing about something, most of the guys on the other teams were jealously looking at Sky (Brandon) because he was lucky enough to have the winner of the beach babe competition on his team, Timmy and Tecna (when they'd get here?) were doing something on their phones, and all the little kids were boasting about what colossal things they were gonna build. Honestly I didn't think me and Musa had a chance….

But alas, the second the timer started, we (specifically me) went to work. All around us, the other teams were already getting their castles started, while I tried to figure out how to model Alfea. Man, we probably should've thought about this BEFORE the competition…

"Okay, so I was thinking you could start the towers," I told Musa, who was too busy cocking her head in Riven's and Darcy's direction. "Musa!" I snapped.

"Huh?" Musa startled out of her daze. "Oh, right! Sorry."

I frowned. "We're on the clock here, so please just focus."

"Right, right. I promise it won't happen again." Musa smiled at me and took a pail. We worked simultaneously for a while, and our castle was really coming together. Everything was going fine until—

"Musa!" I snapped when I caught her glaring at Riven and Darcy again.

"Hm?" She turned to me, blinking.

I pressed my lips together. I knew I said I'd be there for her, but this as ridiculous! We'd promised each other we'd put our everything into this, but here she was moping over some stupid-ass guy and his even stupider girlfriend. "That's it! I know you're bummed out, but seriously? We told each other we'd win this," I reminded her in a low hiss.

"I know, I know. I just-"

"No, Musa! I get it; focusing on some guy is more important than doing something with one of your best friends," I said lowly, keeping my cool.

"Wait, Cadey! That's not what-"

"You're wrong, Musa. That's exactly what is it. And if you're so hell-bent on Riven, then you don't even have to worry about me. I'm out."

And with that, I stood up.

And I walked away.


	15. Glorious Beach Day! Part 3

**A/N: Someone said this fanfiction is OOC. I thought about that for a minute, and I don't really see how. I tried to give all the Winx they're canon personalities from the first season. I don't understand. Am I doing something wrong here? And someone was like: "how can a tree hugger like Flora have big boobs?" Honestly, I don't think Flora's magical interests have nothing to do with her body shape…. I wanted there to be some differences between the girls in both mind and body, so I just thought I'd more Flora a little more…uh…** _ **hefty**_ **up top, because there are some girls who are naturally like that. No big deal, really.**

 **Excited for my birthday on Oct. 17 ^.^ #Sweet16!**

* * *

My butt was hurting.

Damn, this bench was hard. But nevertheless, my rump was glued to it at this point, so whatever…

How long had I been sitting right here anyways? An hour? Two hours? I didn't know; I wasn't keeping up with the time. I sighed and slouched down in my seat. I was regretting how I acted towards Musa. It wasn't her fault she was on edge—it was Riven's. The scumbag didn't even notice Musa had a huge crush on him. And if he did, he was still a scumbag. That was an unchangeable fact.

Man, Musa really wanted to win that sand castle competition. And because of me and my big mouth, she was too busy feeling depressed or something to commit herself to it. I should've just kept my mouth closed about it. What did it matter if the others knew or not anyway? Riven was under Darcy's spell or whatever, so my friends' opinions really didn't have any influence in the situation, honestly. Ugh, I was such a screw-up.

It was probably best if I just went ahead and apologized to Musa. After all, it was my fault she was so fucked up in the first place.

Right as I was motivating myself to get my ass off the bench, a voice called out to me, "Cadey! Cadey!"

I lazily looked up to see Musa running towards me. "Musa? What are you doing here?" I asked, suddenly finding the strength to stand up. Along with my strength came my spunk. "What took so long? I've been sitting here for hours!"

When Musa made it over to me, she blinked. "What are you talking about? It's only been…five minutes. The competition's still happening."

My mouth dropped open. NO WAY. IT HAD TO BE WAY LONGER.

Noticing the disbelief on my face, Musa managed a tiny smile. "I'm…I'm sorry about everything. After you told me about…uh… _them_ , I just got super angry and irritated. And because of me, you got frustrated and forfeited our place in the competition."

"No, it's my fault!" I blurted a little too loudly, "I shouldn't have told you about Riven and Darcy. It was only natural for you to act like that. And it was really wrong of me to just storm off like that. I was being selfish and wasn't regarding your feelings. And thanks to _my_ actions, we're out of the competition."

"No, I'm glad you told me. I knew Riven and Darcy were dating but…" Musa trailed off with a sigh. "Never mind. I just let them get into my head too easily. That's probably what they want, anyway."

Darcy for sure but I wasn't sure Riven had a saying in the situation, but I didn't say this. Instead, I just nodded. "I knew you had a crush on Riven, yet I decided to go ahead and blab about him and Darcy anyway. That wasn't right."

Musa blushed slightly. "Am I really that obvious?"

I had to admit, I was surprised. I hadn't expected her to just outright admit it. Anytime Stella teased her about it, Musa always seemed to brush it off or defiantly refute the blond's accusation. "Uh, kind of. But don't worry; it's only that way to us because we're your girlfriends and we know you. Now, to anyone else, they wouldn't even suspect a thing."

Musa loosened up a bit. "Sometimes, I don't even know why I try to get his attention. It's useless, especially now that Darcy and the Trix are a part of the mix."

I gave her a friendly slap on the back. "Don't worry about it, Musa. Everything will work out in the end. Just you wait. And who knows? Maybe Riven'll fall for you in the end."

This time, the music fairy's face lit up. "You really think so?"

"Uh, _yeah_! There's no way this relationship will be long term. No one can withstand that much Darcy. It's simply inhumane."

Musa laughed, which relieved me entirely. "Yeah, but this is Riven we're talking about. But enough about that. Now that we've cleared things up, how about we check out that amusement park by the beach?"

I smiled broadly. "I was just gonna suggest the same thing. Just because we're not part of that stupid competition doesn't mean we can't have fun, right?"

Musa matched my beam. "Right. Oh, and hey, Cadey?"

"Yes, Musa?"

She held out a hand, stretching out her pinkie. "Let's promise not to ever let a guy come between us. Sure, guys are hot, but friendship is more important."

I nodded. I couldn't agree more. And to prove it, I outstretched a finger and entwined it with hers, sealing a contract that we'd both forever keep.

* * *

"That game was rigged," I muttered as me and Musa walked away from one of the carnival game booths. I'd just got done playing that stupid knock-over- all-the-bottles-with-a-single-throw-and-you-win game. And like 95% of the people who attempted it, I failed. Waste of my devil-damn money."

"Honestly, the whole point of that game is to get customers frustrated so they'll keep purchasing balls," said Musa knowingly as we navigated the boardwalk. The two of us had been going around enjoying what the boardwalk had to offer for the past few hours, and the sun was close to setting. Not five minutes ago, we both got a text from Bloom telling us to meet her and the others at the Ferris wheel, so that was where we were headed now. "It's all in the strategy."

I snorted in disgust. If that was the case, I'd fallen for the bait for sure. I'd bought four rounds of balls before Musa managed to drag me away. *sigh* If my brothers knew, they'd definitely disown me.

"Hey, guys!" Bloom's cheerful voice pulled me out of my inward rant. I looked up to see the colorful, lit Ferris wheel slowly rotating overhead. A few weak-asses on the ride were screaming like they were on a stomach-screwing rollercoaster or something. Standing by the cotton candy concession were Bloom, Sky, Brandon, Stella, Timmy, and Tecna. Sky (Brandon) was flirting (or at least trying to) with the vendor, Bloom was holding on to a giant stuffed animal that Brandon (Sky) probably won for her (how'd _he_ manage to beat the system?), Timmy and Tecna were doing something on their phones, and Stella was finger-combing her hair and yawning. And, of course, Lone Wolf was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, where's Flora?" I wondered aloud, raising an eyebrow as Musa and I wandered over.

Stella shrugged. "How should I know? I haven't seen her all day. She's probably hanging out with one of her new groupies." Okay, I couldn't help but notice a slight hint of jealousy in her voice. The princess was perhaps still a teeny bit upset about Flora winning the swim suit competition and gaining all those admires and followers.

"I'll text her again," volunteered Tecna, not taking her eyes off her handheld's illuminated screen.

"You know, I enjoyed these past two days," said Bloom thoughtfully, "it sure does beat lame old field trips back in Earth schools."

Tell me about it. This one time, me and my seventh grade class went to McDonald's as a "field trip". It wasn't that exciting because one: I'd just eaten McDonald's the previous night, two: we were only allowed to order _one_ thing off the shitty dollar menu, three: the food was nasty as that five-day-old Chinese food my brothers once dared me to eat.

"Even _if_ we ran into the Trix and those obsessed ex-girlfriends," added Stella, bringing a hand up to her mouth as she yawned.

"But I'll admit: I'm ready to get back to Alfea and hit the hay," went on Bloom, nodding. "A lot's happened this weekend."

Again, tell me about it.

"Weird. Flora isn't texting back," announced Tecna lowly, raising an eyebrow at her phone.

"Then just call her," said Stella with an eye roll. "No big deal."

There was a moment of silence as Tecna dialed Flora's number. She put in on speakerphone and things got even quieter as her handheld rang repeatedly. Though all kinds of yelling and laughing were resonating around us, that long rhythmic ringing drowned out all the surrounding sounds. "Nothing," said Tecna, shaking her head as Flora's phone took us to voicemail. "She's not answering."

"Weird. That isn't like Flora," frowned Musa.

Worry stretched across Bloom's face. "Do you think she's okay? Could something have happened to her?"

"You never know with those witches around," I frowned deeply. "We should probably look for her just to be safe." The others echoed in agreement.

"It's getting dark out, so we'll split up into pairs just to be safe," suggested Bloom, "and if one manages to find Flora, text the others immediately."

"Right." We all nodded and disbanded instantly. Stella was with Timmy, Sky (Brandon) with me, and Musa with Bloom and Brandon (Sky).

"So, where's the last place you saw Flora?" I asked Sky (Brandon) as we ambled closer towards the beach.

"When we won third place in the sand castle competition," he replied, "I treated her to ice cream afterwards, and that's the last I saw of her."

"Wait, so who won first and second place?" I asked curiously.

"Bloom and Brandon won, while Darcy and Riven came in second."

Shit. I could imagine that REALLY getting under Riven's skin. Coming in second to his all-time rival. Tough, man. That meant Riven was gonna be extra bitchy for the next few days. Or weeks. Or months.

"Flora? Flora!" I called as the two of us wandered onto the grainy sand. I scanned the beach, the fires from the others' bonfires making it easy for me to see. I frowned. "Dammit, she's not here."

"I'll try calling her again," volunteered Sky (Brandon) take out his phone. The heck? Since when did he have Flora's cell number? But alas, I didn't say anything as Sky (Brandon) impatiently waited for Flora to answer his call. "Nothing," he grumbled as Flora's cell sent him to voicemail.

"Flora! Flooooorrraaaa!" I called even louder.

"Yeesh, what's with all the shouting?" complained a voice. Sky (Brandon) and I both turned to see Stormy and Icy hissing at us with disgust.

"What are you guys still doing here?" I snapped, getting irritated. "Forget it, I don't wanna know. Just get out of our way so we can go find Flora."

"Good riddance," muttered Stormy.

"Oh, I think I've seen her somewhere," said Icy with a yawn like it was no big deal. "About…a few minutes ago."

I swore I nearly bitch-slapped Icy. " _Where_?" I demanded.

"Oh, just in town," replied Icy, observing her nails boredly. "She was with some guy."

Now, it was Sky (Brandon) who looked like he wanted to bitch-slap the witch. "What did he look like?" he bark-hissed.

"Chestnut hair, pointy ears, pale skin. Nothing much," said Icy half-heartedly. _Harry._ Of course. "I think they were heading into the big hotel on the boardwalk-nearby the Ferris wheel-"

OH NO, OH NO, OH NO. Apparently, Sky (Brandon) knew what that meant to because his face twisted with all kinds of emoticons. We took one glance at each other and took off running back towards the boardwalk. "Call the others!" I shouted at him, "tell them everything!"

OH SHIT, OH SHIT, OH SHIT. HARRY WAS TRYING TO TAKE FLORA'S VIRGINITY! WHY ELSE WOULD THEY BE GOING INTO A HOTEL? AND POOR, INNOCENT FLORA PROBABLY DIDN'T EVEN KNOW. FOR ALL WE KNEW, WE COULD ALREADY BE TOO LATE!

As Sky (Brandon) struggled to run and work his phone simultaneously, I sped up. This was _NOT_ good! At this very moment, poor Flora was probably pinned to the bed, crying out for Harry to stop as he tried to pull down her panties. But alas, there was no one near to hear her pleading shouts, leaving Harry to do as he pleased. Just imaging that in my mind made me heat up. Some pervert was NOT going to pull one of my friend! Not on my watch!

 _I'm coming, Flores!_

* * *

Sky (Brandon) and I burst into Seashore Resort, nearly stumbling into the front desk. And like every seaside hotel, the lobby was classy and decked with crystal chandeliers, gold trimmings, marble floors, and polished glass.

Huffing and puffing, I leaned against the desk and forced a smile at the guy in the tux behind the counter. He frowned at me immediately as if sensing I was "lower class". "Hi," I wheezed at him regardless, "I-I'm looking for a fr-friend who checked in here not long ago."

The tuxedo guy just glared at me with a _what's-this-bug-doing-in-here?_ look. He took a glance at Sky (Brandon) and clapped his hands. "Security," he called loudly.

Heck. "Yo, what's the big deal?" I snapped, "I just asked you a question!"

"Security," called Tuxedo again, holding his chin high.

"I'm not afraid of your fucking damn security," I hissed at him, "I can take whoever you throw at me…." I trailed off when I heard heavy breathing and felt a massive figure towering over me. Oh no.

Seconds later, me and Sky (Brandon) were flying out of the hotel, landing face-flat on the concrete outside. "Well, well, well. I guess that didn't go as planned," chuckled a voice. I peeled my face off the ground and looked up to see Stella smirking down at me.

"So, Flora's in there?" asked Bloom slowly, looking up at the fancy building.

"Yeah, but the stupid lobbyist or whatever you call them wouldn't even talk to us," I spat, standing us. "I just asked him a fucking damn question and he threw us out."

"Of course he did," snorted Stella like it was obvious. She flipped her head over her shoulder. "This is an elegant hotel, remember? Only the rich and well-known are allowed to go in."

"So how did Flora and Harry?" I asked, wrinkling my nose. Maybe the lobby guy knew about the swimsuit competition…..?

"Dunno. Maybe Harry's rich or something. But that doesn't matter. Now that I'm here, I can take care of things considering that I _am_ a princess. Can't get any better and more important than that," boasted Stella, fluffing her hair.

 _Just go in there, fucker!_

"I hope Stella get answers," fretted Bloom as we watched Stella enter the hotel. "Flora could be in trouble. Some guy could be taking advantage of her as we speak and-"

"Bloom, calm down. Panicking isn't going to get us anywhere," pointed out Tecna thoughtfully, "all we can do is trust that Flora's okay and hope Stella will-"

Seconds later, Stella soared through the air and landed awkwardly on the ground at my feet. "You were saying?" I asked Tecna, dully.

Complaining, Stella picked herself off the ground. "What's that guy's problem? Doesn't he know I'm the princess of this planet?" she grumbled, brushing the dirt off her thin sundress, "I can have my dad send him to the dungeon for life or-"

"Forget that jackass; I got another idea," I announced as Stella went on ranting about her status as princess and how she could fuck up the lobbyist's life. "We have wings, remember? And last time I checked, all beachside hotels have windows so the customers can look out at the wonderful view of the ocean."

"What's that got to do with Flora?" asked Stella lamely.

"We can just peer into the windows to see if Flora's in any of the rooms," I explained. Before Brandon (Sky) could point out how that was an invasion of privacy, I added, "that's our only other way of finding out if Flora's in there or not."

"What if she's in a room _without_ a window?" spoke up Timmy.

"We're not gonna think about that now," I insisted quickly, transforming into my fairy form. "We have Flora's virginity to save, remember?"

Before Stella could say anything smart or cheesy, I took to the air and flittered up to the higher levels of the hotel. I immediately pressed my face against the first window I saw. Unfortunately, all I saw was a human-less yet nicely furnished room.

Not giving up, I hovered over to the next one. The room on the other side of the window was identical to the one I'd just looked into, but a man and woman who weren't Flora and Harry were rolling around on the floor without their clothes on and—

SHIT. I DID NOT NEED TO SEE THAT. I instantly covered my eyes and flew to the next window. I peered through the glass to see a woman sitting on her bed, typing furiously on her laptop. Before she had a chance to look up and notice me, I moved on. Feeling bored, I looked into the next window. A bunch of figures in dark cloaks were on their knees, surrounding a candle-lit table where a large picture of a woman rested. Though the glass separating us was thick, I could hear them chanting weird hymns.

The heck? I remained where I was, watching as the dark ritual or whatever was happening take place. Seconds later, one of the hooded figures turned around and a pair of glistening green orbs gleamed from under the cloak at me.

YIKES! I flew away just in case they were into sacrificing young maidens or something. You could never be too safe….

And just to take precautions, I zipped around to the other side of the building. "That was close," I muttered, turning around. "Some weird stuff happen in hotels-" I trailed off the second I got a glimpse of what was on the other side of the window I was flying in front of. Flora was sitting on a bed and Harry was pacing around the room, his mouth moving fast though I couldn't hear any of his words.

"GUYS! I FOUND THEM!" I yelled. And without thinking, I outstretched a hand. "Wondrous Wind!" I shouted. My whispery spell shattered the glass of the window, and I landed on the floor inside the room. "Alright, jackass! This ends now!" I shouted at Harry.

"Uh, do I know you?" asked Harry with a -.- face.

"Hi, Cadey!" Flora waved at me happily. Her face was like: ^.^. I stared at her. I kind of expected her face to be coated in tears and her bikini torn….

"You're okay?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yes! Why wouldn't I be?" Flora cocked her head.

"Uh, maybe because YOU'RE IN A HOTEL ROOM WITH A GUY YOU HARDLY KNOW!" I shouted at her.

"Oh, Harry just wanted to talk to me."

"In a hotel room? ALONE?"

"Oh, he's staying here for the weekend," explained Flora, "his dad has business in town. He was just apologizing for all the trouble he and his friends caused."

"Yeah, right." I rolled my eyes. "He just used that excuse to lure you in here so he can take your virgin-"

"If I really wanted to rape her, wouldn't I have done it already?" pointed out Harry lamely, "we've been here for like…forty-five minutes already." Flora nodded. "I would've been done doing her by now."

I thought it over for a moment. "Hey, if nothing's wrong then why didn't you answer your phone?" I snapped at Flora.

"Oh, it ran out of battery," explained Flora, holding up her cell. "I can't receive any calls or texts." She smiled at me. "Sorry if I worried you."

"Then I was spying on people for now reason?" I snapped, "do you know how much work that was! I literally saw someone having sex, man!"

"That's not our problem. You're the weirdo looking in on people," pointed out Harry. He pointed down at the floor, which was clutered with broken glass. "You're paying for that by the way."

-.-


	16. A Friendship Almost Sundered

**A/N: Hey guys! Long time no see! I haven't updated in a while, but I'm back and ready to jump back in the saddle!**

 **World of Winx is so cool! The animation is so clean and mature, and everything was just so… _different._ I really liked seeing the Winx as spies—they were so athletic, stealthy, and badass. We've never seen the Winx like that, and it was nice to see them being kickasses in a different, new way. But I was disappointed when they got Dreamix. Sure, the transformation was beautiful, but there was really no need for the spy element afterward. When I saw the trailer, I thought the show would be about the Winx fighting crime as spies, not fairies. I just wish the entire series would've focused on the spy element. Hmm. Wait a second. That gives me an idea…..**

 **Sorry if this chapter isn't good. I'm going through some stuff at home.**

* * *

Homesickness is a bitch.

I rolled over onto my side, sighing loudly. We had the day off school and my roommate along with most of the school was out, leaving Alfea near vacant. It was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. And honestly, I was thankful for the silence. It gave me a chance to think.

Magix was cool and all and I liked having magic, but this universe was just outright… _weird. I_ was looking at the situation oddly. Being in Magix had been a dream come true—still was—but I hated it at the same time.

Magix had a lot of things the Real World didn't—magic, fairies, wizards, _floating_ vehicles, good quality high-speed Internet. But there was one thing I didn't have: my family. I missed Mom and my six siblings. I kinda missed my hillbilly neighbors across the street. I missed my school, I missed the Plastics. I missed reading _Sailor Moon_ , I missed watching anime. I missed everything about the Real World. Reality.

Reality. Was this reality? I pondered this question as I stared up at the ceilings. I was in the world of the Winx Club, where trolls wreaked havoc and dark, plotting sorcerers lurked in nearly every shadow. Where anything could be manipulated by magical means. Was this reality?

What if this was all just some kind of illusion? What if I was really psycho or mentally unstable? What if I was simply making all this up in my head? What if this whole thing was nothing more than a dream, fantasized by my own imagination?

I pinched my arm. I felt the pain tickle my arm. I _felt_ it. That had to mean something, right?

Magic wasn't real where I came from. But magic was real here. Scientists worked tirelessly in hopes of finding wonders and miracles in the Final Frontier, yet in this universe every inch of the galaxy, every celestial body was inhabited. In Reality, what lay in space was a mystery unknown. But in Magix, the reality and truth of space and time had been fully recognized to the point of common knowledge.

Was this reality? Was this _my_ reality?

My family crossed my mind again. I'd give anything to hold little Stephanie again. To see her laugh and big eyes twinkle. I missed my older brothers—even the deadbeat West. I missed Mom, although she was a definite piece of work. But then again, so was I. I allowed myself to smile. Mom. Damn, I never thought I'd miss her like this.

The two of us…we had a weird relationship. It was already bad enough the two of us shared the same name—Acadia. See, my mom's family had a dumbass tradition stating the eldest daughter had to be named such. Thus, my great-grandmother was Acadia, my grandmother was Acadia, mom was Acadia, _I_ was Acadia, my firstborn daughter was supposed to be Acadia. Like there was a chance in hell I'd torture my daughter like that. That's why I never went many places with my mother—I hated it when we met knew people and we both had to introduce ourselves as Acadia, especially when that new person happened to be my mom's newest boyfriend.

I mean, being an Acadia wasn't so bad, however. Because there were so many Acadias in the family, we all had two first names so it'd be easier to address us. For example, I was Acadia Renee and Mom was Acadia Majesty, so within the family, we were just addressed as Renee and Majesty. However, I hated my second-first name, so my family just called me Reign. I was Reign, Mom was Majesty.

I felt the corners of my lips tugging up into a smile. Mom.

There was a lot to say about my mom. To begin, she was irresponsible. I could remember a few times when she'd run off with one of her boyfriends and stay gone for a week on end. And whenever that happened, responsibility for the family automatically ended up being my burden. The major role swap always made me hate Mom—she was the adult, I was the kid. Yet while she ran around and had fun, I had to look out for the rest of the family.

I bit my lip. I wondered how Bailey and Stephanie were doing without me. Hopefully, Mom had taken my disappearance as a cue to calm the fuck down and keep a closer eye on her kids. Hopefully, she was playing mother for once, instead of running around with guys from the crack house.

Sadness washed over me. Shit, I missed everyone at home, even my deadbeat brother. I missed kicking his ass for bringing girls to the house. I kinda missed doing his laundry. I missed the shithole he called his room. Everything. Part of me wanted to cry, but I didn't. It hurt to know there was a possibility I'd never be able to see my family again.

Was this reality?

I kept asking myself that over and over. I felt pain, I experienced different emoticons. I thought normally, I spoke normally. But this world…this world wasn't normal. Was it?

With one yell, I could become a fairy. I could defy gravity and sail the winds, things I could only dream of doing in the Real World. But that was normal here. What was it reality?

I knew I sounded crazy, but I was legit confused here. I was even more confused than that time me and my friends read _Fifty Shades of Grey_ back in sixth grade (like I said. Middle school was a dark time). My reality and Magix's reality were two totally different things. But the question was, which one was real? Were both somehow real, or was I imagining one or the other? What if my life in the Real World hadn't been real to begin with? What if this was the natural order of things?

No. My life before coming to Magix couldn't have been fake. But at the same time, this didn't feel fake either. Could both somehow exist simultaneously? I had so many questions. Questions I didn't have the answers to. But then again, that was life. Life was full of things and occurrences we couldn't explain no matter how much we tried. Some things were simply meant to be inexplicable.

And you know what? Who the flip flop cared about what reality really was? If this was my fate, then this was my fate. I was here in Magix, and after all this time, it was obvious I was staying. No ifs or ands about it.

I sat up, glancing toward the window. It was a clear, sunny day out. Why not enjoy it? Besides, I had the day off school so—

Wait a minute. _Why did_ we have the day off school? It wasn't the weekend. Maybe it was a holiday or something. I had learned that Magix had a lot of peculiar holidays and festivals. I crossed over to Amaryl's side of the room, avoiding all the dirty clothes and homework scattered all over her floor. I glanced at her wall calendar, reading past all the stick notes taped to it. I ran my fingers across the page, locating today's date. And sure enough, there were a few words written in small print, marking the day to be—

" _Shit!_ " I swore, whirling around on my toes. Shit, shit, shit, shit, _shit!_ I staggered around my room in search of my pants.

Today was the _Day of the Rose_! That's right! The day Darcy would supposedly trick Riven into partnering up with her and the Trix! But since she and Riven were obviously together already, what would the day bring? Would the Trix try to pull away another Specialist from the group?

Fuck. How did I let this happen?! For crying out loud, I s _aw_ Flora packing to leave for Linphea! I _heard_ her discussing the Day of the Rose with Bloom and the other Winx! How the heck did I forget?

I hoped around the room, struggling to slide my leg into the pant leg of my sweats. Dang it, dang it, dang it.

Grumbling to myself, I got into the rest of my clothes and scrambled out of the door.

The bus ride to Magix City was quiet, since I was the only one on the _floating_ bus. Whether they were visiting home or the city, everyone had left early. Alfea wasn't far from the main city, so I arrived downtown around twenty minutes later. Magix City was rosy, literally and figuratively. Today being the day of the Rose, everything was patterned and adorned with roses—girls wore roses in their hair, guys wore roses clipped onto their tie, every decoration was shaped like a rose. The place even smelt strongly of roses.

My eyes darted around in search of my friends, ignoring the loud parade slowly progressing down the street. My guess was that the big bike race hadn't happened yet, meaning Bloom hadn't fucked up with Riven yet.

At least, my eyes caught the bright green of Stella's sundress, so I crossed over the lawn and over to them. She was with Bloom, but Brandon and Sky were nowhere to be seen. "Hey guys," I called over to them with a little wave.

They both looked up at me, and I startled at how gloomy Bloom looked. "What happened?" I asked automatically.

Stella yawned. "Nothing, really. She only had a fight with Riven," she said like it was nothing, palming her hair.

My heart sank. I was too late. Bloom had already gotten off to a bad start with Riven. But she still hadn't fallen for the Trix's little scheme. I could still prevent that from happening, though there would really be no use. Riven had already sided with the witches, so they had no reason to seal his deal. But what if they tried something else? Considering Bloom was currently the weak link with her being new to magic and all, the Trix would most likely try to use her to put their plan in motion. And I couldn't let that happen. I'd just have to keep Bloom in my sights at all time.

"Well, Riven _is_ kind of a creep," I pointed out, "he gets into it with everyone. Not even Icy and Stormy like him. So there's really no bother in feeling bad about it. Why don't we just forget all about Idiot Riven and enjoy the Day of the Rose?"

Stella perked at that. "Ooh, on our way here, I totally saw some bounties I want to check out. They're having a one-day only sale and I can't miss it! So what do you say? Shopping spree?"

"Do we have a choice?" I asked dully.

"Uh, _duh_! Besides, Acadia, this could be your chance to actually invest in something feminine for once." She looked me up and down, scowling at my sweats.

"Hey, it's comfortable, so I don't give a damn," I said, waving away her criticism.

Stella continued to throw shade at me and my fashion sense all throughout our trip to the market place. For the most part, Bloom seemed to be getting over Riven, which was a good thing. In fact, she even laughed at one of Stella's corny jokes as we entered one of the fancy shops Stella had been talking about.

The place was completely modern with shiny black floors and a sleek, crème interior. Pop music was blaring from the speakers and all kinds of teens were leafing through the clothes racks and talking about teenager things. Stella immediately disappeared into the store, bubbling with excitement.

Bloom and I idly strolled the store, and I cringed when I saw the price tag dangling from one of the blouses. Yeah, it looked like I wouldn't be shopping here. I was learning that stuff in Magix City was expensive—even more than usual.

Bloom and I spent the next near hour wandering after Stella, who just kept piling clothes into our arms. Eventually, she decided to try on a few things before we left, so we ventured into the stylish dressing room. And unfortunately, we weren't alone.

Two witches were sitting on one of the benches, one dressed in blue that matched her eyes and the other in all purple. "Oh, great. Just our luck," hissed Icy sarcastically as Bloom and I dropped Stella's stuff onto the bench across from them.

"Shut up," I snapped at her as Stella rummaged through the pile of dresses, pondering which one to try on first. "This is a free world, you know."

Darcy snapped her gum and rolled her eyes. Icy just snorted and Stormy, who was changing in one of the stalls, gave an audible smirk.

I hissed. Seriously, why were the Trix _everywhere_ we were? They were like leeches! For real, they stalked us more than my mom's ex-boyfriend—well, _one_ of them—who always smelt like pot and fresh-out-of-the-ass shit.

"Where's your lapdog?" I snapped at Darcy as Stella proceeded into one of the stalls, swinging her curtain of blond hair over her shoulder in an _eff-you-guys_ manner.

Darcy just shrugged like she didn't give a damn. I wasn't surprised, honestly. The Trix were just using him to ruin the relationship between Red Fountain and Alfea.

Icy laughed coldly. "And what about you? Where are your little bodyguards from Red Fountain?" "Okay, for one, they are NOT our bodyguards," informed Bloom matter-of-factly. She held up two fingers. "Secondly, we aren't like you witches. We don't use people all for the sake of a sneaky little scheme."

"Oh, honey, please." Icy rolled her eyes. "You fairies think you got us all figured out, when you really don't have a clue." Stormy emerged from her dressing room with a rose-printed dress on. Icy yawned to emphasize her disapproval, waving her sister away. Stormy hissed, but disappeared back into her changing stall.

"Right back at you." I furrowed my brows, leaning against the wall. "Just because we're fairies doesn't make us stupid."

"I beg to differ," smirked Icy.

Serving as a distraction from the Trix's rudeness, Stella came out of her room, twirling around in an orange sundress. "How do I look?" she asked proudly, posing.

"Like a sundried orange," said Icy harshly, "it looks horrible on you."

Stormy, who'd happened to come out at the same time as Stella, nodded and rolled her eyes. "Yeah. You wear orange so much, it hurts my eyes." But from the angle as I standing at, I could see inside Stormy's dressing room. And the exact same dress was hanging off the rack inside. Hypocrite.

Stella glared at the witch. "Insults are compliments from a witch," she said lowly, returning back into the dressing room.

"FYI, they boys don't even hang out with us that much," I insisted, going back to what we were talking about. "We don't even like them like that."

"Please. You aren't fooling anyone," said Icy, flashing an icy grin. Her even colder eyes locked onto me. "I know your secret."

I kept my face still and calm. Part of me felt uneasy—did Icy know I wasn't from this universe? Did she know I didn't belong here? No, that couldn't be the case. No one knew about me because I rarely spoke about my life before Alfea. Besides, even if she did know I was from a different dimension or whatever, would that really be abnormal? According to Headmistress Faragonda, there were dozens of galaxies and alternate dimensions, so me being from one of them shouldn't be considered odd.

The entire room got quiet, everyone looking at me. Though Bloom's face was twisted in discomfort, I could tell she was curious. And I didn't even have to say anything about Stella—the blond had already emerged from her stall, staring at Icy with eyes filled to the brim with interest. "Secret? What secret?" she asked in a somewhat pressy tone, dropping the mound of dresses she'd already tried on onto the bench beside Bloom. She put her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow. "How do _you_ know about one of Acadia's secrets and not me?"

"What? You think that just because we go to different schools, I don't know what's going on?" Icy wagged a finger at Stella. "Remember this, blondie. _Never_ underestimate a witch, especially one of the Trix." She grinned scarily at me. "Anyway, as I was saying, don't think I don't know about your little crush on that Red Fountain boy."

"Which one?"

Okay, _now_ I was gonna say something. "I don't know who the hell told you that, Icy, but trust me, I'm not interested in _any_ boy."

"Wait, so you're into girls?" Stella's eyebrows shot up.

"What? No, idiot! I just meant I'm not into any guys _right now_."

Icy made a "pfft" sound. "Yeah, right. That's specifically why I've seen you checking out that Brandon guy." Stormy came out of her changing room. "Ew, pink isn't your color, Stormy. Besides, you look like a grandma trying too hard to be hip."

"Tch, whatever."

"Wait. _Our_ Brandon? You know. Blond, blue eyes, six pack? Prince Sky's guardian?" Stella's eyes were huge now. She sent me a sly grin. "Wow, Acadia. I had no idea. I always thought Riven was more your type but—"

"Stella, cut it out! Just because Icy says so doesn't make it true." Bloom's face was so red. Poor girl.

"You're just jealous because he's _your crush_ too," countered Darcy, finally looking up from her phone. "That much is obvious."

I was angry. Simple as that. These dumbasses were over there starting rumors about me _to my face._ I rose to my feet, preparing to go all out on them. "Listen up, bitches," I sneered, sounding just like one of those housewife heifers off Bravo or E!. "You're either stupid or naïve, because I DO NOT have a crush on Sk—Brandon. First of all, I don't do blonds."

"Hey!" squeaked Stella, sounding a bit insulted.

" _Second,_ Brandon? Really? I can do better than that. Firstly, that guy has _zero_ personality." I meant it too. Ever since I first started watching the Winx Club, I could never stand Sky. I always hated how out of all the Winx's Specialist boyfriends, they made Sky the only prince to make Bloom look super special and lucky. And then to add on top of that, they made him _blond_ to add onto that "Prince Charming" thing.

And when I said he had no personality, that was basically true. Since he was the main character's boyfriend, the scriptwriters did their best to make him look perfect. He always swung to the rescue and somehow always outshined the rest of his squad, though they all always put in just as much effort as him. The scriptwriters had focused so much on making him look heroic, they made his actual personality dry. He was always the paragon, the stereotypical good guy. He was just soo selfless and always said the right things, did the right things, and acted the right way. There was nothing wrong with doing the right thing, but c'mon! No being was _that_ perfect. At least all the rest of the Specialists had their faults. Riven was arrogant, Timmy was awkward, and Brandon was also a tiny bit cocky and also humorous. But Sky? Sky didn't have any faults. The only bad thing I could ever remember him doing was punching Riven in the gut out of jealousy. But I never counted that because the scriptwriters only added in that little stunt to glorify how much Sky loved Bloom and how "perfect" they were for each other.

The other boys had their own thing that made them unique and respectable: Riven was the rebel, Timmy the socially-awkward but super-intelligent nerd, and Brandon was the laid-back flirt. But Sky? He was just the perfect leader. I didn't like him. Hell, I liked _Riven_ more than Sky. At least he actually had a personality.

 _Sky never made mistakes._ Every time he had a suspicion or something, he was right. Every time he made a decision, it ended up being the right one. He was hardly realistic. I just _loved_ how people just pushed aside the fact he cheated on his fiancée and caused her pain. They made Sky's only screw-up totally irrelevant—just waved it away like it was never really there. And of course, everyone just excused Sky because apparently, he was just the shit.

"Secondly—" I held up two fingers. "—that motherfucker ain't even who he's claiming to be. Thirdly, he doesn't even have a legit social life and just barely has friends, fourthly, that guy's probably a player, fifthly, he's probably not even naturally blond, and sixthly, Stella wears heels that are bigger than his dick."

"Wait, how do you know that last one?" Stella looked at me suspiciously, and Bloom wouldn't even glance at me.

Icy let out a snort. "Wow. Are you sure aren't a witch?"

I matched her smirk. "Honey, just because I'm a fairy doesn't mean I'm a saint."

Bloom suddenly stood up, looking downward. Her bangs were casting a shadow over her face as she said, "You shouldn't talk about Brandon like that! He's never done anything to you!" She was clenching her fists at her side.

"Bloom, chill. You badmouth Riven all the time," I pointed out, putting my hands on her hips. Now all of a sudden I trash talk about a guy she likes and she gets offended?

"Yeah, but we all know how Riven is. Brandon on the other hand hasn't done anything wrong!"

"That you know of."

Bloom ignored me. "And you just talk about him behind his back! That's not what friends do! I'm more than positive he wouldn't do that to you."

"Yeah, because Brandon's such a saint, I know, I know."

Bloom gritted her teeth. "No. You _don't."_ And with those words hanging in the air, Bloom stormed out of the dressing room.

I scowled. "Drama queen."

Icy rose from her seat, giving me slow-measured claps. "I'm impressed, fairy. You hurt poor little Bloom's feelings, and I thought goody-goody fairies always 'honored and respected each other'. It was my belief that all of you fairies stuck with that useless code."

Something without be broke. I was a fool to say all those things in front of the Trix. They were nothing but no-good witches who were hellbent on my undoing. Hm, almost like my grandmother on my dad's side. BUT ANYWAY, creating drifts between us was what they had been aiming for. And I let them accomplish their goal.

"Shut _the fuck_ up," I hissed at Icy before sprinting out after Bloom. Dammit, I was no better than Riven. The both of us had played right into the witches' hands. But in the end, we'd both fix our mistakes and set the record straight. The right way.

* * *

"Hey, Bloom." I gave Bloom a little wave as I approached her. We were in the park across from the bouquet. Bloom was sitting on a bench, staring off into space. I could hear cheering and singing in the distance, meaning the rose parade was still going on. I shoved my hands in my pockets, remaining a few feet away from Bloom. "Bloom, I'm sorry—"

"I know, I know. You didn't mean anything harm." Bloom looked up, biting her lip. "But sometimes, you just need to think before you start…"

"Talking shit about somebody else?"

Bloom nodded weakly. "You could hurt someone's feelings. One day you might offend the wrong person and…" She didn't finish. She sighed. "But I guess there's no harm done since Brandon didn't hear any of it, right?"

Just then, I coincidentally happened to look up to see the blond approached us, his lips pressed together tightly. He was grasping his phone in his right hand so hard, his palm was turning red.

"What's up?" I asked casually as Brandon (Sky) approached me. I knew nothing good was going to come out of this conversation when I saw how serious he looked. He looked grimmer than my deadbeat brother on laundry day.

"Look, I know we haven't exactly been 'friends', but I don't understand," said Brandon (Sky) with a deep frown. Before Bloom or I could speak, he swiped his finger across his smartphone's touch screen and a recording started to play:

" _Listen up, bitches. You're either stupid or naïve, because I DO NOT have a crush on Sk—Brandon. First of all, I don't do blonds. Second, Brandon? Really? I can do better than that. Firstly, that guy has zero personality. Secondly—" I held up two fingers. "—that motherfucker ain't even who he's claiming to be. Thirdly, he doesn't even have a legit social life and just barely has friends, fourthly, that guy's probably a player, fifthly, he's probably not even naturally blond, and sixthly—"_

Sky tried to stop the recording before the last part played, but wasn't fast enough.

"— _Stella wears heels that are bigger than his dick."_

At the mention of that, Brandon's (Sky's) face went red. "You've never even seen it!" he exclaimed, trying hard not to look at Bloom, who was blushing just as hardly.

My mouth dropped open. Those sneaky little witches! They recorded what I said and sent it to Brandon (Sky)! Talk about dirty! And my mom was right. You could talk trash about a guy all you wanted, but it was a whole other story when you criticized his manhood. That was _the_ way to offend a dude.

"Uh, I'm sure it isn't _that_ little," I laughed nervously, "but there are always growth supplements and—"

"I'm not upset about that! I'm upset that you'd say these things about me behind my back. You know I wouldn't do that to you." Brandon (Sky) frowned, staring at me with hurt eyes.

A tiny bit of guilty tugged at my heart, but I didn't let it get to me. I realized how he didn't mention the part about me nearly calling him his real name and how I said he wasn't who we thought he was. But of course he wouldn't say that in front of his crush and raise suspicion.

"You'd talk about Riven like that," I said slyly.

"We all know how Riven is. And this isn't about Riven. And if anything, I thought you had more sense than Riven." Brandon (Sky) glared at me.

"Okay, okay. I know I messed up," I said quickly, "but just let it go, okay? I'm sorry. By the way, are you aware of who sent you that?"

"It doesn't matter. And how can I just let this go?" Brandon (Sky) knitted his eyebrows. "I have feelings too, you know." And with that, he turned his back to me and started away.

"Brandon, wait!" called out Bloom. But he didn't stop. We watched him disappear. "Well, I think I spoke a little too soon," said Bloom lowly, biting her lip. "He's upset."

"I know, I know. But I tried apologizing, and he didn't accept, so that's his problem," I insisted. "Besides, he's such so 'perfect', he probably won't—" I stopped when I spotted Brandon (Sky) again. He was coming back. Maybe he had second thoughts and was coming to forgive me anyway. As I said, he was too big of a good guy to turn a blind eye to me. But as he got closer, I knew I was sadly mistaken.

I raised an eyebrow as Brandon (Sky) marched across the grass, face twisted with anger and fists clenched at sides. The fuck was wrong with him? "Uh, yo?" I called regardless, taking a step back. Seeing him so triggered reminded me of Riven, and Riven wasn't afraid to throw a few punches, so I thought I'd just take a safety precaution.

"You can be a real bitch, you know that?" snapped Brandon (Sky), his face hardening even more when he was within earshot.

I heard a shot fire somewhere. "What?" My mouth dropped open and beside me, Bloom gasped with horror. I burst out laughing immediately. I know, the dumbass just called me a bitch to my face, but I couldn't help myself! It had been my unrelenting belief that Brandon (Sky) never did anything bad, cursing included.

"Brandon! What's gotten into you?" Bloom took a step back, probably sensing the blond's negativity.

Brandon (Sky) pointed an accusing finger at me. "Don't think I was gonna let that little rant of yours slide. You think you can just say crap about me like that?"

I managed to calm down a little. "Look, bro, I already tried apologizing to you, but you wouldn't take it. I offered to make things right, but you wouldn't listen. You can't get upset anymore."

Brandon (Sky) laughed icily. "Yeah, right. You might not give two shits—" I started laughing harder, and Brandon (Sky) ignored me. "—but I care about what others think of me." His hard gaze snapped onto Bloom. "And you! How can you keep such vulgar company around you? I thought you were better than that!"

Okay, time to shut this down. "Listen, buddy, don't blame Bloom for my actions," I warned, suppressing a giggle. I stepped in front of Bloom defensively.

"I bet you have no problem with what she said about me," Brandon (Sky) went on angrily, staring right past me and at Bloom. "In fact, I think you _agree_ with her! The both of you are just nothing but trash!"

I furrowed my brows. "She doesn't give a shit about your dick," I said matter-of-factly. I looked over my shoulder. "You don't, right?"

Bloom stammered, her eyes welling up with tears. "Why are you being such a jerk all of a sudden?" she yelled at Brandon (Sky), "she tried apologizing to you, but you just turned your back to her! And now you wanna come crawling back and start something else?" She bit her lip. "I-I was wrong about you, Brandon. I thought you were kind and nice, but you're obviously just like your buddy Riven." She turned away so Brandon (Sky) wouldn't see her tears.

Seeing her so worked up triggered something within me, because I all of a sudden went from amused to pissed. "Ya know, I was wrong about you," I said slowly and coldly, putting my hands on my hips. "You _do_ have a personality! You're a loud, cocky, arrogant douchebag!"

Brandon's (Sky's) face went super red. " _Bitch_!" he snarled at me before whirling around on his heels and storming off.

And just as he was marching away, Stella decided to make her appearance. "Heyyyyy girls," she called, sauntering over with about a dozen shopping bags dangling from her arms. "What did I—"

"Go eat a dick!" I shouted at Brandon (Sky) as he disappeared into the crowd. A few people gave me us looks, but I didn't give a fuck.

"Wait, was that Brandon? Bloom, why are you crying?" Stella was at our side, staring at the redhead.

Sure enough, Bloom was sniffling and crying lightly, looking down at her feet. Her tears trickled down her face and landed on her sneakers. "Oh, nothing. Brandon just told us off, called me a bitch, and insulted Bloom," I said sarcastically, pressing my lips together.

"Yeesh. Sorry I asked. _Wait._ He _what_?" Stella's mouth dropped open. "He didn't!"

"He did," whispered Bloom, looking up as she wiped her face with her sleeve.

Stella snorted. "I'll give it to him, I never thought he'd flip out like that. Maybe Riven rubbed off on him. Or maybe he's just been two-faced this whole time. But anyway, he does know he's on our hate list now, right?"

"Apparently, he doesn't give a fuck," I grumbled, shoving my hands into my pockets.

Stella looked a little taken aback. "Wow. I really could've sworn he was better than that. I guess you really don't know a guy until you've badmouthed his size."

I blew out my cheeks. "Tell me about it. So what do we do know?"

"I'll tell you what we do know—we confront the guy _obviously_ ," said Stella in a _duh!_ kind of way. "He's not getting away with that. It's already bad enough Riven went at it with Bloom this morning. We're not going to blow off Brandon that easily."

"Damn straight. I'll go find that assface right now," I insisted, kicking at a patch of grass. I wasn't upset over what he said to me—trust me, people have said way worse about me. I couldn't get over how rude he was with Bloom. I thought the bastard liked her for crying out loud! Who did their crush that way? Something told me Brandon (Sky) wasn't paying hard to get either.

I'll come too," spoke up Bloom as Stella struggled to go through her purse with all those bags hanging from her arm.

I eyed her. "You sure? I ain't gonna lie, we might get into a fight." I was prepared to get into a fight if I had to. I wasn't afraid to kick blond add.

Bloom nodded weakly. "Please, don't fight him. Maybe he just said all those things out of anger and will apologize. And if not, he's still not worth fighting."

"If you say so but if I gotta kick ass, I will," I warned as the two of us started away from Stella, ignoring her "wait up!"

"Maybe he's just having a bad day?" suggested Bloom lowly as we walked down the snaking concrete path. "We all have those every now and then."

I couldn't deny that one. There was this one time my brother woke me up early and I wouldn't buy him cigarettes for a week. Ah, good times. "Maybe," I admitted. I paused when I spotted Brandon (Sky) sitting on the bench by the rose-adorned carousal, staring down at his clenches hands. After remaining still for a moment, he finally stood up and started away.

"Yo! Brandon!" I called out, pushing through the crowd with Bloom on my heels. The blond paused and turned around. Storming up to him, I snapped, "We need to talk." I put my hands on my hips and got all in his face. "Did you really mean all those jerkass things you said about me and Bloom?"

"What? Bloom? I didn't say anything about Bloom." Confusion painted Brandon's (Sky's) face. "And I wasn't being a jerk. That was—"

"You're totally being a jerk," I interrupted rudely, "and what the hell do you mean you didn't say anything to Bloom? You literally just confronted us a few minutes ago and called us both _trash._ You can't tell me you don't remember _that_."

But the face Brandon (Sky) was making totally implied he didn't remember. For a second, part of me wondered if he had a split personality and didn't share his dark side's memories, but that was just…outrageous. Besides, I've been around Brandon (Sky) plenty of times and he never acted like that before. Maybe he was bipolar? I didn't have a damn clue. But I _did_ know what he said about us, and I wasn't letting it slide.

"Look, I would never say anything rude to Bloom," insisted Brandon (Sky), glancing at the redhead. "You _do_ know that, right?"

Uncertainty stretched across Bloom's face. She was just as confused as I was. Something wasn't adding up here. Something was very fishy (fisher than that hooker my brother had been dating at one point).

"You're mental," I laughed harshly, shoving him away. "Bloom was straight up _crying_. You hurt her feelings and you know it!"

Brandon (Sky) looked shocked. "Wait, you were crying?" he asked, his gaze locking on Bloom. The girl immediately dropped her gaze, aiming it at the ground again. At her quietness, Brandon's (Sky's) eyes grew wider. "There's a misunderstanding here. Bloom, I would _never_ hurt your feelings like that! The same thing goes for you, Acadia. Let's just—"

"Let's just what? Laugh all this off? Forgot about it, bucko. I tried to apologize, you blew me off, and then talked shit about us. Quit trying to play the victim."

"Look, I didn't accept your apology right then because I was angry," Brandon (Sky) tried to explain, "I needed some time to cool off. In fact, I was just about to look for you and—"

"Shut the _fuck_ up!" I hissed, "I've heard enough! You're mental or something and we don't want to be around you." I grabbed Bloom's wrist and started to pull her away.

"Wait, girls—" Brandon (Sky) reached out for my hand, but I shook him off.

" _Back the fuck up, big man_!" I scowled, steering Bloom further away. "But don't worry—we _got_ you, bro. This ain't over!"

He tried to follow us, but I yanked Bloom into one of the crowds for cover. As we traveled through the bodies of people, I could hear Brandon (Sky) calling out to us. But we didn't stop. I could hear Bloom sniffling sadly, enraging me even more.

I motherfucking meant what I said. This wasn't over. Acadia Renee Valerie Jones never ran away from a fight. I was gonna get Brandon's (Sky's) ass. _Count on it._

* * *

"He's just toying with your emoticons," informed Stella knowingly, licking the ice cream off her spoon. "Guys love getting into girls' minds like that. Makes them insecure and easy prey." The three of us was sitting outside a café enjoying (well, trying to) sundaes. Brandon and Sky were nowhere to be seen and I really didn't give a fuck about Riven and the Trix. Another parade was passing down the street, but none of us were in the mood to enjoy it.

Bloom was idly and glooming stirring her sundae, sighing. "I don't know—I dated someone back on Earth before. But other than that, I don't know much about boys. And I really didn't think Brandon would turn out like this."

"This is why we never should have trusted any of them! I mean, look at Riven's ass! He's the Trix's lapdog now and who knows what's going on in Sky's head."

"Hey, Prince Sky's decent. Trust me," insisted Stella, "Timmy too. Brandon….I don't know what's up with him. One minute he's being the good boy, the next minute he's someone completely different. And you obviously can't talk to him or he'll just fall into a character again."

"So what should we do? Let him get away with it?" I snapped, "no well in hell! We're not falling into his trap like idiots."

"Then I don't know what to tell you." Stella shrugged.

"I do. I say we track that fool down and _kick his ass_." I grasped my spoon firmly, slamming my other fist onto the table. Stella was about to say something, but paused when Sky's (Brandon's) voice rang out.

"Hey, ladies," he called out smoothly, approaching our table. He pulled out a chair from one of the other tables and positioned it beside Stella's, sitting on it backwards. Stella giggled lowly, twirling a lock of hair around her finger flirtatiously. "What's happening?" he asked, his gaze drifting from Stella to Bloom and then to me.

"Save it, Casanova," I snorted, "we don't want anything to do with you."

Sky (Brandon) wiggled his eyebrows at me. "What's gotten into you?"

"It's Brandon," admitted Bloom with a loud sigh, pushing her sundae away like she didn't want the rest of it.

"What about him?"

"He's crazy," I replied simply. "He totally called me a bitch and Bloom trash."

Sky's (Brandon's) face twisted with disbelief. " _Our_ Brandon?" He laughed. "Yeah, right. He'd never do that."

"But he totally did, that's the thing. After Acadia badmouthed him, he got all psycho. Acadia tried to apologize, but he just acted rude," said Stella, finishing off the rest of her sundae.

"Trust me, that doesn't sound like Sky," insisted Sky (Brandon) in a joking manner, "he'd never say those things." See, even he knew Brandon (Sky) was too much of a good guy.

"Wanna bet?" I asked, glaring at him. "Let's find your boy right now."

Sky (Brandon) took out his phone. "I'll just dial him up and—"

"No! Definitely don't call him. We need to catch him off guard," I said like it was obvious. "I bet he's still somewhere around here. He probably hasn't left the park yet." I rubbed my hands together. I loved a good plan.

"Aren't you girls taking this a bit too far?" Sky (Brandon) looked so amused, I wanted to punch him in the face. But I refrained from violence. This flirt was going to learn soon enough.

* * *

I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.

Here I was strolling through the park trying to look normal, with three unprofessionally stalking me from a distance. Without turning around, I could hear Bloom and Stella whispering sharply to each other and trying to stealthily jump behind different objects with Sky (Brandon).

"Not the lamppost! We can still see half your body!" I heard Stella hiss.

"Stella, be quiet! We can't draw attention!" was Bloom's soft whisper.

"Hey there, beautiful." (Sky (Brandon).

"Prince Sky, quit flirting and pay attention!" (Stella).

I just kept walking. I didn't see them. I didn't hear them. I was just taking a normal stroll, _trying hard not to draw attention to myself,_ just as the _others were supposed to be doing._

That's when I spotted him. Brandon (Sky). He was sitting on the edge of the fountain, staring off into space. This was it. I heard my friends duck into a bush as I proceeded over to the blond.

"Hey, dude," I called, trying hard to sound casual.

"Just get effing lost, Acadia. All you do is cause problems," hissed Brandon (Sky), scowling at me. "Why are you even here? To criticize my body again?"

I couldn't help but feel guilty about that last part. "Look, I was just joking. I don't really give a fuck if your dick's small or big. And I came here to talk."

"Talk?" Brandon (Sky) laughed like a hyena. "Yeah, right. I'm not stupid. I know you got your friends with you. You're just trying to make me look like a fool, but the fool's really _you_."

"Okay, that's it!" Bloom jumped out from the bush with Stella and Sky (Brandon) hot on her trail. She stormed up to us, pointing a finger at Branson (Sky). " _You are literally the biggest hypocrite_ _ **ever**_ _!_ Not long ago, you were trying to make nice with us, even after what you said! And now you're being a jerk again! What's your problem?"

Brandon (Sky) just snorted and waved at Bloom in a _bye-Felecia_ manner. "Back off, little girl. You don't know anything."

"Brandon, dude. This is going too far." Sky (Brandon) frowned grimly. "What's going on with you, man? You told them you wanted to make things right, but now you're being like this?"

Brandon (Sky) shot his buddy a look that said _shut the fuck up._ "Whatever. I don't need you assholes," he jeered, standing up. Stella tried to catch his arm, but he shook her away, storming off.

"See! What did we tell you?" I barked at Sky (Brandon). "He's a dick!"

He shook his head. "No way. No way that's the Brandon I know. I've rarely heard him swear like that. And his face? Brandon never looks like that. Something's off. It's like…he's a whole different person."

That's when I froze.

" _It's like…he's a whole different person."_

 _Or maybe that wasn't the real Sky at all._ My mouth dropped open, realization dawning over me. Could it be that really wasn't Sky? Wait a second. The Trix. They were hellbent on ruining Alfea's relationships with Red Fountain. This could be just another one of their tricks. They already had Riven, so they were trying to pry another Specialist away from us.

"That isn't Brandon," I whispered to myself quietly.

Stella shot me a look. "Oh, don't tell me you actually believe that too. He _literally_ just called you a fool! You must _actually_ have a crush on him."

I shook my head. "I was a fool for not realizing before. But guys hear me out. What if that's not really Brandon? What if this really is just a trick?" In the actual series, Icy had managed to disguise Knut as Timmy. So what if they were doing the same thing, except using Sky's appearance?

"Look, it was the Trix who sent that recording to Brandon, right?" I pointed out, "witches like them don't do stuff like that for the heck of it."

"Uh, _yeah they do._ They're just jerks like that," insisted Stella.

"Wait, Acadia's on to something! Perhaps this is all just a major trick!" Bloom brightened up with hope. "Think about it. They were hoping to gain something from sending Brandon that message. What if this is just another phase?"

"What, so you're saying they brainwashed Brandon?" asked Stella sarcastically.

"No. That's not it. We've run into Brandon separate times. Sometimes he was nice, other times he was not. Maybe there are _two_ Brandons." I was getting exited now.

"Huh?" Stella, apparently, was not.

And there was only one way to prove my theory. "You guys go find Brandon," I directed the three, "and I'll go find Brandon."

"You're not making any sense," deadpanned Stella.

"Text me when you find him," I called over my shoulder, running off in a different direction. I was a _genius!_ How did I not think of this before? Hehe! The Trix's plan was about to blow up right in their face!

* * *

I finally found Brandon (Sky) eating ice cream under the oak tree, looking lonely. I plopped down on the patch of grass beside him, relived by the shade underneath the leaves. "Hey," I said casually.

Brandon (Sky) looked at me with his sad eyes. "Hey."

Okay, so this was the right one. "Look, about earlier, I just wanted to apologize again," I said, plucking a daisy out of the ground. "It was wrong of me to say those things."

Brandon (Sky) licked his ice cream slowly. "It's okay. But I thought you and Bloom were angry at me."

I took a deep breath. "I know what I'm about to say sounds crazy but you know how me and Bloom accused you of those things? Well, you did and didn't say them. We think the Trix are trying to get between us, and that they've created a double of you to ruin our relationship. Wow, that sounded weird. I didn't mean a relationship-relationship but—"

"Wait, so Bloom doesn't hate me?" Sky (Brandon) perked up.

I nodded quickly. "I just need you to—" My phone buzzed with a text from Stella.

 _We found Brandon! the playground near the carousal._

Yes! My suspicion was right! "Okay, come with me," I said quickly, grabbing Brandon's (Sky's) arm and pulling him up. Without explaining, I yanked him across the park, my mind racing. As we approached the playground, I grew anxious when I spotted Stella, Sky (Brandon), and Bloom. And they were with a Brandon (Sky).

My Brandon (Sky) apparently noticed him too, because he instantly asked, "What's going on?"

"Wait, so there really are two Brandons?" gasped Bloom, her hands flying up to her mouth. "But how?" Her eyes darted between them, bulging with all kinds of emoticon.

"And more importantly, how do know which one's ours?" piped up Stella.

I kept my Brandon (Sky) close to me. "This is the right one," I assured, squeezing his arm.

"No, he isn't! _I'm_ the real Brandon!" The other Brandon (Sky) pointed at himself, growling.

And without warning, the Brandon (Sky) at my side leaped out and pounced on the fake one.

* * *

Bloom screamed as the Brandons (Sky) brawled each other, rolling around on the ground, trying to land punches on one another.

Shit, shit, shit.

Sky (Brandon) and I raced over and yanked them away from each other. Once they were separated, I immediately realized we had a problem. "Great. Now we got them mixed up," I frowned, stepping away from the two. "We have to find out which one's the real Brandon."

" _I'm_ the real Brandon," both blonds chorused. The one on the right shot the one to the left a hard look. "Look, _I'm_ the real Brandon. Sky should know."

"That's what fucked up—he _doesn't._ " I rolled my eyes. "Anyways, one of you is a fake, so no one's leaving until we go home with the _real_ Brandon." Okay, this looked so much easier on television. "So let's start by asking a few questions."

" _I'll_ ask the first one," spoke up Stella, appearing by my side. "Okay, you two. Who am I?"

"Stella, Princess of Solaria," answered both Brandons (Skys) simultaneously.

I facepalmed. Of course they'd know that. Stella was a freakin' princess! It wasn't like someone with such a title could go unnoticed. And I believed that's what Stella thought too. "The one and only," she giggled, flipping her blond hair over her shoulder.

"What are the names of your closest friends?" spoke up Bloom.

"Timmy, Riven, and Prince Sky," answered the Brandon (Sky) on the left.

The one on the right protested, "You didn't give me a chance to think!"

"You shouldn't have to think about who your best friends are," I countered.

"That's not gonna cut it, though," pointed out Bloom, pacing around us. "We can't just make random decisions based off a right answer. We need to be smart."

Sky (Brandon) stepped forward. "I'll handle this," he announced like he was the bad cop or something. He looked at the First and Second Brandon (Sky). "Okay, only the real Brandon would know this: what is my middle name?"

A plane conveniently soared over head, droning out the Brandons' (Skys') answer. We girls exchanged confused glances, but Sky (Brandon), apparently, had heard because his face went red. "This is going to be harder than I thought," he muttered.

"They both share the same memories," frowned Bloom, "so we can't question them. We need another way."

"Water," I said almost instantly.

"What?" the others echoed.

"Don't you remember? According Professor Paladin, most dark spells have a weakness—water and fire. They're both purifiers. If something is enchanted with dark magic, either water or fire can reverse the spell."

Both Brandons (Skys) startled. "Don't worry, don't worry. We're not gonna burn you or anything," I reassured. "But there _is_ a fountain over there…"

"No!" shouted one of the Brandons. He jumped back, his face twisting with hate. "That would destroy me!"

"It's him!" I shouted, "Bloom go get—" A fat raindrop melted into my clothes. I looked up at the sky. It was getting cloudy. One by one, more raindrops fell out of the sky as a light drizzle.

Just then, the fake Brandon (Sky) screamed as the rain down poured on him specifically. "NOOO!"

I jumped back as the fake Brandon (Sky) started to glow with darkness. He then morphed into some kind of shadow being, completing ditching his previous appearance. He grew bigger and bigger, wider and wider, more horrifying and more horrifying. Eventually, he was a massive shadow creature looming over us. Stella, Bloom, and I readied to transform, but the beast started to evaporate, screeching terribly. We along with a few other passerbys watched as the creature disappeared into thin air, fading away completely. And as soon as the creature vanished, the rain just stopped.

"Well, that was weird," declared Stella, "so, anyone up for more ice cream?"

We all laughed. "It's good to have you back, Brandon." Bloom winked at him friendlily. "I'm sorry I doubted you."

"It's okay." The blond smiled kindly. "It's good to know you don't really hate me." The both of them smiled and looked away to hide their blush.

"Hey, isn't that big bike race happening in a bit?" spoke up Stella, "the parade's finishing up, meaning it's about to start soon. You guys better hurry if you don't wanna be late. Can't let Riven have all the fun, right?"

I frowned. Now that Darcy already had Riven under her spell, she had no reason to cheat, right? No, she would still probably cheat. But Riven was already a lost cause, so there was really no point in me jumping in to save the day.

I stayed behind as the four raced off. I'd let them have their fun.

I shoved my hands into my pockets and looked up at the sky. Besides, I had some thinking to do.

* * *

I fingered the petals of my rose as the speaker onstage continued with her speech. The rose was beautiful. It was all white, yet had swirls of pink and red creating a pattern on the petals. I'd never seen such a unique rose. That's why I had to pick it. See, at the end of every Day of the Rose festival, it was tradition for everyone to choose a rose from Magix City Grand Park's garden and bring it to the end-of-festival celebration.

I looked up at the dark sky. There were countless stars in the sky, and a delicate white crescent shone brightly among them. I glanced over at Stella, who was staring up at the moon with a distant look in her eye.

Oh, yeah. While her father was the sun, Stella's mother was the moon. The celestial body's perfect beauty must've reminded her of her mom. My eyes drifted down Stella, stopping at Stella's midsection where she was clasping her rose in her hands. Her flower was pure white, a moon rose. The perfect rose for her mother.

I bite my lip as Musa crossed my mind. Part of me wondered if and hoped she was in the crowd somewhere, clenching her own chosen rose. Just because her mother wasn't in this world anymore didn't mean she couldn't celebrate her. Though I knew Musa's mother's legacy lived on in her memory, the fairy of music didn't have to be so…so cold when it came to her. She could talk about her openly, she could mourn her openly, she could celebrate her openly. Concealing her feelings wouldn't solve anything.

I then thought about my own mother. Who the hell knew what she was doing right now. Maybe she was out with one of her boyfriends or girlfriends. Maybe she was yapping about deadbeat West again. Maybe she was thinking about me. Was she unaware of the fact her oldest daughter had suddenly disappeared? Was she worried sick about me? Being here in Magix, I had no idea what was going on in the Real World—if anything was going on there at all.

I'd been here in Magix for weeks and weeks, but it wasn't until now I started to think about all I'd left behind at home. My brothers, my sisters, my mom. I was ashamed to say that I hadn't really thought about them. I'd been so excited about the whole I'm-in-m-effing-Winx-Club thing, I'd barely given my family any thought.

Harsh, I know. It was like…I…I had outright forgotten about them. That wasn't fair. At all. Sure, they were major pains in the ass, but they deserved every bit of my respect and love.

"Ladies and gentlemen," announced the speaker, strolling around on stage. "Today is all about the women that hold everything together—today is all about our mothers. Mothers are like flowers—each one is beautiful and unique. I know that among us are lots of people who don't have mothers. Some of us have mothers who have passed away, some of us have mothers we don't even know. Some have mothers who neglect them. Some even have mothers who have abandoned them, gave them up to pursue a different life. Those kinds of women aren't mothers. What _is_ a mother? A mother is one who nourishes, one who uplifts, one who finds happiness in her child and raises them to be their very best. _That_ is a mother."

Sure, my mom often acted wild and childish and she sometimes disappeared days on end, but she never neglected us. She'd always call us to make sure we were okay, she'd always encourage us to be true to ourselves, she'd always make sacrifices for our greater good. And sure, she usually made crappy decisions, but she always tried to do what was best for us. _That_ was a mother. She might not have been perfect, but she was still a mother. _My_ mother. And no matter what universe I was in, no matter where I was, that would never change. _That was reality._

"And today, we'll honor those mothers, no matter where they are, no matter who they are. Regardless of what our situation is with our mothers, we owe them more than we think. They are one of the main reasons we're all standing here today, and we'll recognize and celebrate all that they've done for us. That's why we've all chosen a rose—to lace it with love in honor of our mothers. And we'll send that heartfelt love to them, no matter what part of the galaxy we're in. So everyone, please, let go of your flowers."

Within an instant, everyone weakened their grasp and hundreds of delicate flowers rose into the air, all the different colors and smells lacing the nighttime sky. And just like magic, all the floating flowers started to crumble away as golden sparkles, lighting up the sky. From the stem up, each and every flower faded into glittery gold magic.

It was so beautiful. I felt tears welling in my eyes as all the sparkles drifted away in different directions. Love was in the air, literally. I wondered. Would the magic from my flower reach my mom, even if she was in a different, magicless realm?

I smiled to myself. Of course she would. Love had no limits. I loved my mother, and she loved me. The magic from my rose would travel across the universe, ceasing only until it reached its destination. And somehow, deep down inside, I knew Mom would receive mine. I just did. She was still my mother, and nothing would change her. I wanted her to know how much I loved her, even if I wasn't there.

Sure, me might've had our fights and disagreements, but no perfect relationship was actually perfect. There would always be bumps in the road to overcome, challenges to face. But love had no limits. Mom would always be my mom, and I'd always be her daughter. We could be hundreds of light years, but nothing would change that.

 _That_ was reality.


	17. Exposed

**A/n: HEY FAM! I'm not dead! I've really been neglecting this story; I've been too busy working on my other Winx Club fanfiction,** _ **World of Winx**_ **, that I totally pushed this story off to the side. I forgot all the good times I've had writing this story, reading feedback, and re-watching the old episodes. I've went back to re-read the other 16 chapters of this story and boy, the nostalgia. When's the last time I even updated? February? It's freakin'** _ **September now.**_ **I just completely put** _ **O Wondrous Wielder of the Winds**_ **to the side, like it didn't even exist. At one point, not gonna lie, I actually thought about scrapping this story for good. When it came to my two Winx Club fan fictions, for some reason I always pitted them against each other. I wanted** _ **World of Winx**_ **to become really popular and I'd always compare its follows/favorites to that of** _ **O Wondrous Wielder of the Winds.**_ **Because, let's face it, Winx Club fan fictions aren't as popular anymore. Stories with like 13-20 chapters only had a few alerts—ten at the most. And the ones that did have a lot of alerts were really old stories from like 2012 or 2014. I didn't want** _ **World of Winx**_ **to be like that; I wanted it to be like** _ **O Wondrous Wielder of the Winds,**_ **which had 16 chapters and over 50 unique story alerts in less than a year. I was** _ **jealous of my own story**_ **and started updating** _ **World of Winx**_ **more, pushing for more popularity like** _ **O Wondrous Wielder of the Winds.**_ **In my eyes,** _ **World of Winx**_ **was** _ **O Wondrous of the Winds**_ **'s rival story.** **I veered WAYY more toward** _ **World of Winx**_ **and looked down upon this story like it was written by my enemy or something. But then I realized something just a few hours ago.** _ **O Wondrous Wielder of the Winds**_ **is** _ **my**_ **story. A rival didn't write it.** _ **I**_ **did. It was mine just as much as my other fan fic. I always hated how this story had a few thousand more reads than my other one and almost two times the alerts, so I tried doing everything I could for** _ **World of Winx**_ **to surpass this story. But then I remembered: the reason** _ **O Wondrous Wielder of the Winds**_ **was written by** _ **me**_ **and was more on the popular side because of** _ **me. I**_ **worked to get it where it is, and no one else. I failed to embrace this over the past 7 months, leading me to ABANDON it for over half a year. Chapter 15 was posted in October 2016 around my birthday. This is Chapter 17, posted in September 2017, less than give days away from October _2017_. You do the math. I nearly threw away a good story because my other wasn't getting the same results. I was a fool. This is the first Winx Club story I've ever published, and I was just going to…** _ **trash it**_ _ **like garbage.**_ **I realize that was a mistake. I let this story just sit up for months, collecting dust when it deserved so much more attention. It had so much potential and I failed to see so. Now that I think about it, I never realized how much I MISSED this. Well, I'm back now. And I'm going to finish what I started last year.**

 **Without further ado, here's chapter 17 of** _ **O Wondrous Wielder of the Wind s**_ **ince more than half a way ago. I can't imagine how many people have forgotten about this story because of my foolishness, but I won't think about that now. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and I look forward to hearing from my reviews, both old and new. Thank you so much!  
-Rosalite**

* * *

I really needed to stop doing this shit before Griselda caught my ass and had me expelled (and something told me I wouldn't be able to blackmail her with that vibrator a second time…).

I wanted to tell myself I was in the clear since I'd managed to sneak back into the dorms without being spotted (hopefully), but I knew Griselda be lurking in places you'd least expect. I kept an eye out as I stealthily crept upstairs, feeling hyped like I'd just tasted the rainbow and nervous as fuck like I'd just taken a pregnancy test and was waiting for the results—okay, maybe I wasn't _that_ nervous but my stomach sure was queasy like I _was_ pregnant. I was pretty anxious since I knew I'd be packing my shit first thing in the morning if I happened to run into Gisela. I couldn't afford to get kicked out of ALFEA and that got me questioning why I even took my chances with this BS in the first place. I mean, I'd been doing it for the past few weeks without being suspected, but my luck was bound to run out sooner or later, right? I inwardly scolded myself. I had enough now, so I could quit. And I was. I wasn't about to allow my greed to get in the way of fulfilling my childhood-long fantasy of becoming a real sorceress. The chance of being zapped into your favorite cartoon came once in a lifetime, _if_ that. There was a possibility this had ever only happened to me and the chance of it happening again was point zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero zero [insert a hundred or two more zeroes] one. This was literally a miracle on top of a multitude of miracles and I wasn't going to waste it on bullshit like this, even though I'd come close to it several times.

However, I wasn't gonna lie. This money felt _good_ in my pocket. Part of me wondered how much more I could get if I went even further, but the rest of me silenced my curiosity. _Remember the odds, Acadia. You can't fuck this up._ Yes. I had what I needed. I wouldn't let my arrogance get the best of me. I was going to put this money away in my hiding place and put my little "hobby" behind me.

I yawned as I quietly rounded the corner and proceeded into the wing I roomed in. What time was it even? I had purposely left my phone behind (those things can be tracked, which was something I couldn't afford to be), so I had no clue. All I knew was that it was dark out, definitely past midnight. Hopefully, it wasn't _too_ late. I wanted to get in at least an hour of sleep before it was time get up again for classes.

I shivered, suddenly becoming aware of how cold the hallway was. Yeesh, with how much tuition cost here you'd _think_ they'd have the decency to turn on the heat so a bitch wouldn't freeze…

Something wasn't right. The closer and closer I got toward my room the chiller and chiller things got. By the time I reached the Winx's apartment it felt like my fucking fingers were about to break off, it was _that_ cold. Instead of heading for me and my roommates' apartment a few doors down, I grasped the handle of the Winx's door. Of course, it turned because dumbass Stella probably forgot to lock the door again (seriously, that was how your shit got stolen in college or whatever the fuck this place classified as). I was greeted by an icy clasp of wind the second I stepped foot in their quiet, dark living room. Words couldn't even describe how freakin' cold it was in there. Yep, something was _undeniably_ wrong in this mug. My first instinct was to check on the girls. Usually, Stella would be up at this hour (assuming whatever the fuck the hour _was_ ), but tonight her door was closed like the rest of the girls'. I opened Flora's and Bloom's door first to find the air in their room was so cold I could _smell_ it.

"The hell?" I shiver-grumbled, feeling all over the stinging-cold wall for the light switch. When I finally found it, I had to _pry_ that fucker upward for some reason—it wouldn't budge, almost like it was frozen. It sure felt like it. I finally turned the lights and the room lit up…What the fuck—

 _ **WHAT THE FUCK!**_

I started swearing like a sailor in hurricane season at the scene around me. For some reason, the whole bedroom was covered top to bottom in _ice_. Not kidding. Shiny ice crystals had formed on and were hanging from the ceiling like a fancy glass-crystal chandelier, the floor was covered in a thin sheet of frost, the walls were glossy with a thick coating of the same substance, and all the girls' furniture was encased in thick ice. Including their beds. _With them in it._

I screamed at the top of my lungs. Flora kept snoring away, apparently unbothered by the cold. Bloom, on the other hand, was stirring and mumbling in her sleep something fierce. She kept shifting between her normal and fairy forms, clothed in her pajamas one minute and then arrayed in her winged fairy outfit the next.

"Acadia? Is that you?" called Musa's muffled voice from her and Tecna's room. "Why's it so _cold_?" She appeared beside me in her pajamas, which consisted of a really small tee and a short pair of super-short pj shorts. She was freezing, hugging herself and shaking like crazy. "HOLY SHIT!" she swore when she saw everything. "IT'S A WINTER WONDERLAND IN THIS MUG."

"Huh! I'm up, I'm up!" shouted Bloom, suddenly bolting upward alertly. She looked around slowly, her jaw slacked and body trembling like she'd just witnessed a shooting. "WHAT HAPPENED?" she shouted, noticing her legs and blanket were frozen in a block of ice, trapping her in her sitting position. She could still move her upper half, thus the reason she was waving her arms around like crazy. "IT'S SO COLD! SOMEONE DO SOMETHING!"

"I'll get her!" volunteered Musa, disappearing out of the doorway and into the rest of the apartment, shouting Stella's name. Meanwhile, I managed to get the hang of walking across the ice. I slowly but wobbly-ly (wobbily?) teetered across the ice over to Bloom, cautiously moving slow so I wouldn't slip. The cold was stinging my feet so much, they felt numb.

"H-h-h-how d-d-did th-this even happen?" A shivering Bloom managed to ask, her breath visible from such cold conditions. "Did we get attacked by the Trix while we were sleeping?"

"The fuck should I know?" I snapped, partly annoyed from the serious pain I was experiencing in my feet. "Flora! Flora, get up before you freeze to death!" The girl didn't flinch and kept snoring sweetly, her breath coming out of her nose as thin little clouds. HOW WAS SHE SLEEPING THROUGH IN THIS MINI-ARCTIC?

When I finally made it over to Bloom, I started pounding on her frozen lower half. "D-don't worry, Bl-Bloom! I-I'll get you out," I promised her, the cold making me shiver like crazy. Fuck, how did this happen? After a few more hopeless pounds, I was winded. I hadn't even put a _crack_ in the ice.

"I-I can't break it," I breathed heavily, rubbing my numb hands together.

"W-well hurry be-before I c-c-completely fr-fr-freeze over," pleaded Bloom, "I-I-I can't f-f-feel h-h-half of mm-my b-b-body. M-my arms are even starting to feel n-numb."

Welcome to my world.

"Alright, what's going on— _ **AH!"**_ I whirled glanced over my shoulder to see Stella face-flat on the icy floor and Musa standing in the doorway trying to hold back a laugh (how the hell could you even _do_ that when it was this painfully cold?). Stella tried to stand back up, but she ended up slipping and falling back down.

"Is it just me or is it getting colder?" I asked, my teeth chattering as Musa attempted to skate in.

"Is this some kind of prank?" demanded Stella, holding on to the doorframe as she stood and steadied herself.

"Th-the fuck? Does this lo-look like a prank?" I countered, knitting my eyebrows in a _you dumb m-effer_ manner.

"Fine, fine!" Wrinkling her nose, Stella outstretched her arms and a bright aura emitted from her body, warming the whole room. The ice started to melt at a fast rate and eventually, it all completely dried up and the room as back to its normal room-temperature state. "Anyone care to explain what just happened?" yawned Stella, fluffing her bed head.

We all shrugged and exchanged confused glances. "I just came in here to get Bloom and Flora and the ice was already here," I said, frowning.

"It's a good thing, too," said Bloom, swinging her legs over her bed and placing them against the carpet. "Flora and I could've _died_." Actually, it was a miracle that hadn't even happened yet. No human being could stand to live in such cold conditions. The only reason Bloom wasn't a lifeless hunk of ice right now was probably because of her Dragon Fire and Flora…Well, I had no idea how she was still breathing. _Wait, WAS SHE?_ Right as I was about to hurry over, she moved, thankfully.

Flora sat up in her bed and yawned super-wide. "Huh? What's going on?" she asked curiously, looking around at us with sleepy eyes. She didn't look one bit cold or even chilly. Because of Stella's magic maybe? No, that couldn't be it. When the room was on ice, Flora hadn't seemed to notice at all. Almost like…she was _immune_ to the cold.

"Why are you guys causing such a commotion so late at night?" asked Tecna tiredly, dragging her feet into the room. "Are you trying to get us in trouble with the headmistress? Acadia, what are you even doing in our apartment?" She looked me up and down. "And why are you so dressed up?"

The other girls' heads snapped in my direction, just noticing I was the only one who wasn't dressed in her pajamas. I wasn't actually dressed up; just a biker's jacket over a plain tee, dark jeans, and biker boots. "Yeah. Why _are_ you dressed like that? Are you just coming back from somewhere?" asked Bloom suspiciously.

The hell? These girls were just in here _freezing_ a second ago, and they were more concerned about me? Hashtag teenage-girl logic. I avoided their gaze. "Uh…" They didn't exactly know about my side hustle yet….

Musa must've noticed the bulge in my pocket because she lunged for it, grabbing my night's winnings. The other girls gasped in shock as Musa stepped back, displaying the thick wad of cash she'd just swiped from me for all to see. _Shit._ I was in so much hot water now.

Stella was the first one to break the stunned silence. "Okay, Acadia. _Spill._ Where'd you get all that money?" she demanded, more curious than concerned. "You're the poorest out of all of us, so there's no way your parents gave it to you." Yeesh, way to be harsh.

Flora was so astonished she didn't even bother scolding Stella for her rude straightforwardness. She just kept staring at the roll of money Musa held with panicky eyes like it was a hand grenade just seconds away from detonating.

I bit my tongue. "Uh, I…found it?" _Busted as fuck._

"OMG. Acadia, did you _steal_ this?" hissed Musa, narrowing her already narrow-looking Asian eyes at me. She was giving off a no-shit aura that screamed _I dare_ _you to lie to me again. I_ _ **dare**_ _you. Test me and I'll kick your ass._

I was insulted. "What? _NO!"_

"Then where did it come from?" snapped Tecna, looking just as scary as Musa. "How much money is that even?"

Musa leafed through the bills without popping the rubber band around them. "I don't know. I'd say…about a few hundred at the least?" I sucked in my breath as she realized how much of an underestimation that was, her eyes bugging out of her head. "Forget that. There's a few _thousand_ here. They're all hundred-dollar bills." Busted _and_ dead as fuck.

Tecna whirled around to stare at me, her eyes and face hard as stone. "How much is this?" she demanded in a hushed tone as if someone outside might hear.

I inched away from her. "Um…"

" _How much is this?"_

I took a few steps back, sweating nervously. "Not much," I gulped, "just three thousand five hundred."

Tecna looked taken aback. Musa was legit dumbfounded and Flora probably would've fainted if Bloom hadn't appeared behind her and grabbed her shoulders just in time. Tecna stared at me blankly, all the emotion draining from her face. "You _did_ steal this from somebody."

"I didn't, I swear!"

"Oh yeah? Then where could you possibly find _this_ much money?" Musa hot-potatoed it over to me like her skin would break out in hives if she held on to it any longer.

"Okay, for one, I didn't find it. I _earned_ it," I corrected defensively. "I worked for it."

Musa wasn't convinced. "Isn't it obvious, you guys?" yawned Stella, sitting down on Bloom's bed and crossing her legs dramatically. "She's a prostitute."

The room went dead silent. Flora fell backward into Bloom as if the wind had been knocked straight out of her, utterly terrified. Terrified beyond words. The only sound that came out of her mouth was a strangled squeak. Her reaction was like that of a no-BS, hardcore Christian mother who'd just found out her daughter was a lesbian.

"Oh my god…" muttered Musa, stumbling backward like someone had just hit her in the face with a chair. She staggered into the wall, weakly sliding down into a sitting position on the floor. She looked woozy. _"Oh my god."_

"That's the only logical explanation," insisted know-it-all Stella, sitting on Bloom's bed and tossing her hair over her shoulder. "How else could she make so much cash in one night? She probably charged one hundred a guy."

Oh, you had GOT to be kidding me. Think, people, _THINK._

"But that'd mean she slept with over three hundred guys tonight," pointed out Musa, wrinkling her nose as realized the absurdity of that accusation. "That's impossible. That much sex would've killed her."

 _Yes!_ Finally, someone was using their brain.

"Yes, my thoughts exactly. That conclusion is far too preposterous," agreed Tecna, "though I _do_ agree that Acadia must've done something unlawful to obtain that kind of money in one night. It's my hypothesis she was dealing."

"Wait. As in _drug_ dealing?" hissed Musa, shooting me a sharp, cold glare.

Bloom's eyes widened. "I heard about that rumor!" she exclaimed.

Stella didn't miss a beat. "Me too! Last week, I heard that some of those weird kids in the drama club were caught selling drugs in the woods. Do you think Acadia's part of their ring?"

WELL, GOOD DAMN!

"I didn't sell anything," I snapped, "drugs _or_ my body."

"Then what _did_ you do?" Musa snapped back.

Oh boy. Confession time. Might as well go ahead and spit it out before I got labeled as a human trafficker next. I took a deep breath. "I play card games," I stated slowly. "Poker," I clarified before the Yu-Gi-Oh theme song could start blaring in my mind. Poker. Aka my side hustle. Okay, so a quick backstory: I fell in love with the game when my brothers first taught me how to play when I was eight. After a lot of practice, it became a talent. I considered myself an underage professional at it (which is something I should've been proud about, but what the hell). I didn't mean to sound boastful or anything, but I was pretty damn good at it. Over time, poker became my thing. My _game._ Whenever I went to parties, I'd sit around the card table with a few of my high school's headstrong jocks and _destroy_ them. It got to the point I'd only come to parties to gamble (and drink). We never betted much but I'd win every time, coming home at the end of the night with a good fifty dollars in my pocket. It was an easy way to make quick cash. Hence the reason I was currently standing in the middle of my friends' bedroom with a cash-out of five hundred shy of four _thousand_ dollars.

Let's face facts: I was a girl who'd just ended up in a universe from a children's fantasy cartoon without any explanation or clue on how I was supposed to survive here. My part-time jobs simply hadn't been cutting it so I resorted to something I was the bomb at _and_ good-paying if you played your cards right (pun intended). I went from earning money the _legit_ way to earning it the l _ucky_ way. Poker. I'd been surprised when I found out the game even existed here but it turned out my luck wasn't _all_ great; I _still_ didn't meet the age requirement to legally play for money. So I went with the next option: play illegally with the lowlifes of Magix. I'd been a little unsure about it at first since I was playing outside of my element but playing against potential cigar-smoking crime bosses and slumlords turned out to be the same thing as going against the cokeheads from my high school (minus the custom-jewel rings, lavish clothing, and extra chins). I realized it was fairly easy to take advantage of their money-ain't-a-thing style of play and I hadn't lost a game. During my first game, I betted the hundred dollars I'd just barely saved from my many temporary jobs (which was basically all of my money at the time. Dumbass move, I know) and I cashed out at the end of the night with double that. That was what began my new poker trend. As time moved on, I secretly snuck out once a week to play at a secret location with the vile scum of Magix's streets. Three hundred bucks turned into six hundred and then fifteen hundred, which turned into three thousand, and then, eventually, nearly seven thousand. I was keeping the other three thousand in a secret place.

Everyone's shoulder's (beside's Stella's) relaxed. Sure, what I was doing was technically illegal but not nearly as illegal or moral-less as pimping or dealing drugs, which had to be a little reliving for them. Since that was out of the way, _now_ it was time for a lecture.

"What is wrong with you?" scolded Flora, frowning with disappointment. "Don't you realize how dangerous that is? You're just a sixteen-year-old girl. You don't need to be doing those kinds of things with _grown men_. What if one of them decided to take advantage of you?"

"Don't worry, Flores. There's always security there," I said as Tecna handed me my money.

"That doesn't mean anything. You're still putting yourself in danger, not to mention breaking the rules. You could get kicked out of school," said Bloom firmly.

"Yes. You have to promise us you'll stop doing this," nodded Musa seriously, "this could get you in a lot of trouble."

"We're letting you off the hook _this_ time but if you get caught up in foolishness like this again, we won't hesitate to report you," warned Tecna, "I personally don't care if you want to throw away your future, but I won't allow you to throw away ours. Understand?"

"Well, damn, Tecna. At least show a bit of concern," said Musa.

"I am, but I'm not going to let her ruin our chances here at ALFEA."

"I won't," I promised.

Stella was no longer amused. In fact, she snorted and rolled her eyes. "Poker? There's nothing interesting about that."

 _What?_ "Wait, so you _wanted_ me to be a prostitute?" I demanded.

"Okay, time to change the subject," announced Musa. She turned to face Bloom. "You were tossing and turning in your sleep a lot when I got here. Had another nightmare?"

Bloom's face went uber-serious. "They're not like nightmares. And they're not like dreams either. It's hard to explain, but it looked far more… _vivid. Real._ "

I nodded understandingly. "I have dreams like that sometimes." I shivered. "Except I don't see things; I _hear_ them. And by 'them', I mean Griselda's vibrator. I _still_ hear that thing."

Still?" Stella smirked. "That happened _weeks_ ago. The only reason you're probably hung up on it is because it excites you. I mean, it's common for girls to have crushes on teachers, but I never thought you'd be gay for _Griselda_ , of all people. That's disturbing _and_ depressing on so many levels."

"What the—? The _hell_ are you talking about? I don't have a crush on Griselda and you freakin' know it."

Stella pretended to be disappointed. "Such a shame, to think someone like _you_ would go for old ladies like _her._ But it makes sense when I think about it. You never had decent standards," she said matter-of-factly, crossing her legs and smirking. I gritted my teeth, but she didn't take that as a sign to stop. "Seriously, Griselda's so unattractive. You could've aimed for a pretty girl, like me as an example. Not that I swing that way, but I'm just saying. You'd think if you were into girls you'd at least go for someone who didn't smell like grandma perfume and look like a grizzly bear with a bob haircut. But as I said earlier, you never had decent standards."

" _Shut up, bitch."_

Stella didn't. "What's wrong? Mad because I called you out?" she taunted, "don't worry, we all kind of figured you were a lesbian anyway. It makes sense considering no boy would ever find you attractive. Sure, there was Miller, but he was just a fluke. He never really liked you. And you know no boy ever will."

Of course, I already knew the truth about Miller but it stung when it came from someone's mouth, especially one as brutal as Stella's. And it actually made me kind of sad. Miller was the only boy I'd ever thought of romantically pursing, which was really saying something since I'd never once given two-shits about the possibility of a boyfriend beforehand.

"BITCH. SHUT UP," I growled, taking a threatening step toward her.

Flora jumped in between us, me looking/feeling triggered and Stella giving off the air of a sly and satisfied cat. "That's enough," she said firmly. "Please stop."

"Oh, give me a break. You're not our mother, Flora," said Stella, waving away her request. "So stop acting like it. I'm just telling Acadia the truth, even if it is stone-cold. Why do you think she's never had a boyfriend before? She's just naturally unflattering to guys. It's not her fault."

"Whoa. Why are you being such a bitch?" said Musa, a defensive edge in her voice. "Okay, so maybe she's never had a boyfriend, but so what? And so what if she's gay?"

"I'm not," I spat.

Stella was about to say something more but was cut off when Bloom suddenly cried out, "Yes! That's her!" Our heads turned to look at Tecna and Bloom, who'd been quietly discussing Bloom's visions in the corner, outright ignoring us. Tecna was projecting a hologram from her Dream Probe device—a hologram of the face of phantom Daphne, Bloom's lost sister. I gave Stella one last harsh glare before joining them with the other girls.

"Whoa. Who's that?" asked Musa as she, Flora, and me gathered around Tecna and stared up at the projection.

"That's the lady who's been talking to me in my visions," explained Bloom quickly, "I've seen her before; when we went shopping in Magix last week. She was atop a tall building, watching me like a ghost."

Stella suddenly laughed out loud, like Bloom just told a hilarious joke. Oh boy. Cue the bitchiness. "So what, you see ghosts now?" she asked humorously, "what's next? Can you talk to the dead too?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" demanded Bloom.

"You know _exactly_ what I mean. You're delusional. I was with you that shopping trip, remember? I didn't see anything."

"Yeah, maybe because only Bloom can see her," I argued.

"Yeah, only because she's a figurative of Bloom's imagination. She's not real, just some kind of imaginary friend Bloom must've accidentally created in her sleep or something."

"Is it just me or are you _really_ being a bitch tonight?" deadpanned Musa, "bitchier than usual?"

"Whatever, Musa. Who asked you anyway?"

"Daphne's not fake," insisted Bloom, angered. "I hear her plain as day. She's real and I'll prove it tomorrow."

Stella yawned. "Sure, sure. And why you're at it, how about you prove the existence of the boogeyman too?"

Bloom was probably about to march over and pull Stella's hair if Flora hadn't intervened, as usual. "Girls, that's really enough . Look, it's late. How about we all just head to bed so we won't be late for class in the morning? Besides, at this rate you're going to disturb the other girls in the dormitory. We wouldn't want to alert Griselda and get Cadey in trouble."

"Fine by me," I grunted, storming over to the door. "I was just leaving anyway."

* * *

I think Griselda can read minds.

Well, probably not, but she definitely suspected something was fishy about me (not literally. I believed in proper feminine hygiene). I'd accidentally slept in two _hours_ late and I'd already missed most of my second class by the time I got downstairs to eat _breakfast._ And guess who'd been waiting for me in the cafeteria? The Grizzly herself. She gave me the usual lecture about missing class and shit before dismissing me, but that wasn't the last time I saw her. After that, she happened to "conveniently" be in the hall when I was leaving class and at lunch she kept patrolling me and the Winx's sector of the cafeteria.

Even now, as I was following the rest of my fellow students out of the classroom after our last period class, I caught a glimpse of Griselda's ugly blue dress as she rounded the corner, pretending like she was minding her own business when she was really glaring at me over her glasses. I went along with the act, pretending like I didn't notice her following me as I advanced down the hallway. I did wish she'd stop stalking me, though. It was making me feel weird, especially after Stella accused me of being in love with the old bat last night. I did NOT have the hots for Griselda (I felt the urge to eat a bar of soap just _thinking_ about it) but it was still a bit awkward for me to even glance at her. Stella's disgusting little theory was screwing with my mind.

And speaking of Stella, I hadn't even acknowledged her presence in the classes we shared. She tried to talk to me, but I ignored her ass. I wanted to slap her right across the face for even attempting conversation. She expected me to be all buddy-buddy, friendly-friendly with her after what she said last night? She thought I'd just let it slide? Ha, not going to happen. But enough about Stella. Right now, I was thinking about my newest mission in Operation: Rewrite Winx Club.

Aft lunch, Bloom had made it clear she was going to the library to do some research about Daphne, meaning we were somewhere around episode nine (ten? Nah, definitely nine). And if I remembered correctly, that was the same episode Musa was supposed to come across that witch hangout or whatever and catch Darcy and Riven "romantically" holding hands when it was really just Darcy using her magic to make Riven her bitch and Icy and Stormy were going to catch _her,_ leading to an epic chase-down between Musa, the Trix, and their gothic witch pals. Next, the Winx and Specialists were going to fly down just in time and a huge fight was gonna go down between good and evil. The battle would end with Bloom revealing her Dragon's Flame but start a vicious cycle between the Winx and Trix in which the trio of witches would start hunting Bloom like hungry wolves for her unique, extraordinary magic. So here was my agenda for the day:

 **Agendas for Today:  
1\. Keep Musa away from that witch club  
2\. Keep Bloom away from that witch club  
**

If I made sure Musa dodged the witches (and an even bigger heartache), the Trix would continue underestimating Bloom's real power and remain clueless about the rare magic she carried. _For now._

If I wanted to keep Musa from going to the club, I had to keep her away from Stella, who was going to run her mouth and offend Musa, which would be the sole reason Musa would even be in town in the first place.

"Musa!" I called out to the music fairy when I turned the corner and saw her among the crowd of girls pouring out of a science lab. She looked up and gave me a small wave.

"You okay?" she asked when I walked over.

I almost asked why wouldn't I be when I remembered Stella's insults. "Yeah. Everything's cool," I said. And it was. Better I take Stella's verbal abuse than Musa. "Hey, how about we go find Bloom and see what she found at the library?" I suggested. Bloom had last period free, and at lunch she'd made it known she was going to use it to research Daphne. She should've been done by now.

Conveniently, by the time we made it over to the library, Bloom was already on her way out. "Guys! Guess what?" she said excitedly, "Daphne _is_ real."

"Hello to you too," I teased. Then I became aware of my full bladder. "Crap, I gotta take a piss." Bloom was so excited about her research, she ended up following me to the bathroom as she explained everything she'd discovered, prompting Musa to do the same. This was a good thing, considering I needed to keep them both in my sights.

"It turns out Daphne is one of the nine nymphs of Magix," informed Bloom, "I even saw a picture. I would've kept reading if the headmistress hadn't stopped me. I'm going to bring Stella to the library later and show her the books I was reading to prove I'm _not_ crazy after all."

Musa smirked. "You don't have to prove anything to her. We all believed you to begin with. Stella just likes being a troll."

And speaking of trolls, there was one in the bathroom when we walked in. Standing at the sinks was Candi, her hip jutted out and that bitchy _I'm the shit_ look all over her face. "Well, if it isn't the school's least favorite pack of mules," she smirked upon our arrival, setting down the lipstick she'd been smothering her lips with beforehand.

"And if it isn't the school's least favorite slut," I countered. This was less of an insult and more of the truth. Everything about Candi Burkett (I just found out she even _had_ a surname last week) _screamed_ slut. Her crop top was skimpy (and probably violated Alfea's dress code) and her jean shorts might as well been considered panties. Her eyeshadow and mascara were always applied super thick and super seductive and lips glossy with the same "delicious" pink. Her pierced belly button was forever on display since she didn't own a top that went past it and her acrylic nails had to be longer than my life span. I mean, there wasn't anything wrong with long nails, but they were one of Candi's _many_ secret weapons when it came to seducing a guy. Her signature move was raking them along the dude's neck and arms in a gentle yet alluring way (you became familiar with the technique when you witnessed it a good ten times at the least).

"What do you even want?" I demanded.

Candi clicked her tongue, setting her harsh gaze on Musa. "So tell me, Musa," she said with a mean smirk, cocking her head playfully. "How are things with you and Riven?" Crap. Here we go. I could already tell this was going to end with either Musa dashing out of the bathroom in tears or Musa kicking ass here in the girls' bathroom. I preferred the later.

Musa's whole body flinched. "What's it to you?" I snapped in her place.

Candi pretended to be innocent. "Nothing! I just heard he's awfully into Darcy lately and I know Musa's hopelessly in love with him. Poor girl. Losing your crush to a witch must be _so_ hard." She pressed a hand against her heart and gave a convincingly sad sigh.

Okay, so I saw a change in the future. This was going to end with either Candi wisely leaving the bathroom _right now_ or me getting detention for trying to stab a bitch's eye out with a tube of lipstick. Again, I preferred the later.

Bloom raised a challenging eyebrow. "Oh, like _you'd_ ever know what that's like."

"As a matter of fact, I don't. It goes the other way around—I don't get my heart broken, mainly because I'm always _breaking_ them. I've never lost a guy to anyone. I know how to hook them and make them stay until I get bored with them. And if I see another girl wants him, I make it known she can't have him." Um, why was she glowing with pride all of a sudden?

"Why would I ever want to 'hook' _Riven,_ of all guys?" asked Musa nastily. That was what _I_ was trying to figure out. "I can do way better than that."

"So you're saying you're _cool_ with him dating Darcy?" challenged Candi.

"Totally," said Musa a little too quickly, ignorant of the fact her fists were balled at her sides.

Something told me that was what Candi wanted to hear because a Cheshire-cat grin spread across her face. "Excellent. Then if you're so chill with the two of them dating you should have no problem facing them, right?"

IT'S A TRAP.

I think Bloom realized it too and if Musa did she sure didn't give a fuck. "Damn straight," she said a little too forcefully.

"Then _prove_ it," said Candi, "the Van Rensselaers brothers are having a party this weekend." She said that so casually like we were supposed to know who in the fuck the Van Rensselaers were. "I know some people and I'll get Darcy and Riven on the guest list, as well as you and your friends. If you truly don't like Riven then you'll show and make it through the night without escaping somewhere to cry your little heart out. And if not, I guess we'll know you're hopelessly in love with that loser _and_ a liar."

Okay, so it was quite clear this chick wanted to see someone suffer. "C'mon, Musa. You don't have to prove anything to this bitch. Let's go," I said, reaching for her hand, forgetting I was on the verge of pissing myself.

Musa drew back. "No way. This bitch doesn't what she's talking about and I want to make her feel stupid." Those words made me realize just how alike Musa and Riven actually were. They were both prideful—unfortunately, to their downfall. Wait. Now that I thought about it, _I_ was like that too.

Candi let out a triumphant giggle. "Good girl! Now just leave the rest to me. Let me talk to my people and I'll have the rest of the details for you on Friday, the day before the party." Candi proceeded past us, toward the exit to no doubt make her dramatic leave. And to make things even _more_ climatic, she froze in the doorway and glanced at us over her shoulder with a chilling smile. "Oh, and don't even _think_ about chickening out," she said sweetly, "or you'll regret it big time."

Musa nodded, keeping her Bad Bitch face on. It wasn't until Candi left and the three of us were alone her face changed drastically. We all just stood there in stunned silence. Musa finally broke the silence a few moments later.

"Hey guys?" she said, her voice wavering.

"Yeah?" said me and Bloom.

"I think I just fucked up. _Big time_."


	18. Princes of the Sea

**A/N: Happy birthday to me ^.^ Still can't believe I only added two new chapters since my last birthday ): Anyway, u[dated the story cover to what I'm using for my World of Winx story**

* * *

" _What_? A _party_? Why didn't I hear about this?" demanded an angry Stella, stomping her foot angrily. It was about thirty minutes later and we all were assembled in the Winx's apartment, which was basically our unsaid HQ.

"It doesn't matter because we're not going," said Musa grumpily. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor, staring at the carpet sulkily. It didn't take a genius to know she was upset about that whole Darcy/Riven situation. Eh, screw them both.

Tecna nodded. "Yes, that's probably for the best. Do you recall the last party we went to? You three almost got your rear ends kicked by a bunch of psychotic ex-girlfriends. For some reason I cannot explain, situations tend to escalate for the worse whenever we're involved." Yeah. _For some odd reason._

"Well, she kinda has to go now," piped up Bloom, "or else Candi will completely humiliate her."

Flora, who was watering her potted plants, used her free hand to wave away Bloom's comment dismissively. "Musa doesn't have to do _anything_.Candi's just a bully and is trying to scare Musa, that's all."

"Scare?" I repeated, wrinkling my nose. "Um, I'm pretty sure that bitch has it _in_ for Musa. And if she doesn't go to this party, Candi will unleash hell on her. Why? I don't know. There's gotta be a specific reason she wants Musa there. Maybe it's a setup?"

"Who cares about that?" snapped Stella, pausing her furious pacing. "What we should _really_ be focusing on is why I _wasn't_ invited."

"Um, because you're a bitch," I said, my voice thick with a resounding _duh._ We still weren't on good terms and neither of us seemed interested in patching the relationship. That was fine with me.

"Yeah, but Candi's also a bitch and she got in," pointed out Musa.

"Oh, right. Good point. Well, maybe Stella's just an even bigger bitch." I knew that wasn't true. Stella was vile, but she was nowhere near Candi's level. I just wanted to throw a few insults at Stella.

"I'm the princess of Solaria, one of the most popular planets in Magix," fussed Stella, resuming her pacing. "That makes me one of the most popular princess, meaning _I_ should've known about this party. _Everyone's_ supposed to keep me in the loop. Better yet, _I'm_ the one who's supposed to keep _them_ in the loop. _I'm_ the one who's supposed to know about this stuff _first_."

Bloom gave a carefree shrug. "Who cares? It's just one party?"

"'Just one party?'" repeated Stella, freezing. She whirled around and put her hands on her hips, staring at Bloom like she was stupid. "Do you even know who the Van Rensselaers _are_?"

"A bunch of rich, dumbass college fuckboys?" I guessed. Cuz let's be real. They have to be _somebody_ with a high rep or else Stella wouldn't be so worked up.

"The Van Rensselaers are one of the most prodigious families on Magix," said Stella matter-of-factly, rolling her eyes at our "ignorance." "Their parties are legendary _and_ supper exclusive. They only invite people who are significant."

"Well, that explains why you didn't get invited," I smirked.

The glare Stella directed at me could kill a kitten. "I'm a _princess._ In the social rankings, there's nothing more significant than that. Well, besides king and queen. I outclass all of them. They were supposed to go out of their way to invite me. I was supposed to know about this party _weeks_ ago. And then for girls like _you_ to find out before me? That's just insulting. Something is obviously wrong here."

"What do you mean 'girls like us?'" Bloom narrowed her eyes at Stella.

Stella ignored her. "There has to be some kind of mistake. There's no way anyone would forget to invite the _Crowned Princess of Solaria_."

"Maybe you just got blacklisted," evoked Tecna, more interested in her device than the situation. I didn't blame her. Stella looked taken aback. She just stood there, stunned beyond words.

Musa fidgeted. "I don't wanna go, but Candi will most likely embarrass me in front of Darcy, Riven, the Trix, and everyone else if I don't show up. I can't chicken out of this. But what if this really _is_ a setup?"

"Don't worry, Musa. That's why we're going with you," said Bloom, crawling over and patting Musa on the back.

"We are?" repeated Flora, Tecna, and I, our heads snapping up.

"Well, yeah. We can't just let Musa go all by herself," said Bloom, "that's not how we roll. Besides, Candi and the Trix will eat her alive."

"But what about _me_?" said Stella, biting her lip.

I glared. "What _about_ you?"

"We have to figure out why I wasn't invited to the Van Rensselaers' party," said Stella, like the answer was obvious. "My social life depends on it."

"Yeah, well you're social life can rot in hell for all I care," I said with an eye roll.

Now it was Stella's turn to roll her eyes. "What's your problem? Oh, wait. You're still upset about that whole Griselda thing, aren't you?"

"Geez, how'd you guess?"

"I don't see why. I was just being real with you," she insisted, and with a shrug.

"There's a difference between being real and being mean, Stella," frowned Bloom.

Hell no. We weren't about to go through this again. I turned around and headed for the exit. "And where are _you_ going?" demanded Stella, like I really owned her an explanation.

"Nowhere in particular. I'm just going to do something I haven't done in a long time."

* * *

Fuck, I never realized how much I missed running. I loved the way it felt against my skin, almost like it was embracing me. I loved the feeling of my lungs expanding with it as I increased my pace. I loved the smell of it, thick with the scent of pine trees and dirt. I loved the taste of it as I drew it through my mouth with every breath.

Waves of nostalgia rushed over me as I hit one of the running trails in the forest surrounding Alfea. There were series of them looping around the woods closest to Alfea, but they were only ever utilized during mandatory P.E. classes. The staff tried to encourage the students to use them more often, but hardly any of the girls wanted to use their free time making laps around the woodlands.

I wasn't familiar with the trails yet, so I just remained on the one bordering Lake Roccaluce.

Lake Roccaluce. Didn't Daphne reside in it? I then found myself steering off course and closer toward the lake. I didn't know why. It wasn't like I was going to see Daphne. She would only show herself to Bloom. But still. Oddly, I just felt… _attracted_ to the water. Like it was calling out to me somehow. I stood there and just stared at it for a good five minutes, wondering what the hell was wrong with me. Nothing was here. The water was calling to me; that kind of stuff only happened to Flora.

I was about to get on my way, but a splash from the lake caught my attention. It was just something about it that was startling; it was definitely too big and powerful to be a fish or something, so it was something else. Something else bigger. WAIT. LOCH NESS MONSTER, IS THAT YOU? No, you fool. The Loch Ness Monster was in _Loch Ness_ , not Lake Roccaluce. Besides, Nessie was just a legend. BUT WAIT. This was _Winx Club_. Shit like that was far from a myth. Giant octopus and beastly creatures—including the aquatic kind—were as common as horses and cows here. There might _actually_ be something be something hazardous in there! But the chances of that were slim, right? I mean, there weren't any signs around that warned travelers of potentially monster-laced waters. But then again, there was a pervert creeping in the woods and there were no signs about _that._ What if something really WAS in the water, readying to snatch my ass? Ha, no well in hell. I didn't get this far just to get eaten by a water goblin or whatever the fuck.

Just as I was turning to leave, there was that splash again. I whirled around just in time to see a _tail_ disappearing under the water in the center of the lake. Though I only saw it for a split second, I made it out perfectly. It was big, blue, and scaly with a large fin attached to the end. What the _fuck?_ Any sane person's first instinct? _Run away. My_ first instinct? _Throw a rock at it._ And that was what I did. There was a conveniently large stone under one of the nearby trees so I scooped it up and aimed at the water. It ripped in the same area and I swear I saw some move. Hell no. Remember when I mentioned I had a good throwing arm? Well, I charged some energy into my right one and hurled that fucker across the lake with the accuracy and strength of an Olympian. It landed straight in the spot that'd been moving a few seconds ago and what followed was a series of violent splashing, making me leap back. I hit whatever it was dead-on. _Now_ my instincts told me to run but again, I refused. I stood a safe distance away, staring at the lake to see if my mysterious creature would finally show itself.

Much to my bewilderment, a _head_ rose up from underneath the waves, followed by the muscular torso it was attached to. "Who threw that?" it demanded. Except it wasn't an "it" but a "he." And he was freakin' _gorgeous._ The first thing I saw was the chest, which was bare, fair-skinned, and toned as fuck. My gaze veered upward and focused on the face belonging to this hot bod. It had beautiful eyes and attractive features. But what _wasn't_ that attractive was the scowl panted across it, but I was hardly paying attention to it. I was too busy taking in this hunk. He had long purple hair that spilled past his shoulders like a waterfall and a set of matching dot-like symbols on his forehead. Similar markings were widespread on his chest and… _wait._ He had a dorsal _fin_ on his back and I took note of the scales bordering his upper-half. And what that a _tail_ flickering in the water a few feet behind him? O-M-G. THIS GUY WAS A _MERMAN!_ I was _finally_ seeing one! And right when I thought things couldn't get any better, _another_ merman popped up beside the first one. They were nearly identical, except the second one had lavender hair and bluish-green eyes. Their hotness was equally as breath-taking.

Their eyes settled on me and immediately erased my fan-girl face. "You!" The purple-headed one aimed an accusing finger at me and swam closer toward me. "You nearly gave me a concussion!"

I almost asked how he knew it was me when I remembered we were literally the only ones out here. Guilty as fuck. "Sorry," I said shortly, trying hard not to stare at him like some freakish pervert.

"'Sorry?' Do you know who I am?" he demanded, his tail beating against the surface of the water just as furiously.

"No." And I really didn't give a damn. I apologized for throwing the rock, right? Why was he getting so worked up? It didn't even hit his ass. Tail. Whatever the fuck his rear end was called.

Though I didn't outright say I didn't care, I was pretty sure the look on my face screamed as much. And if it did, the purple-haired merman didn't care because he puffed out his chest and arrogantly and strongly stated, "I am _Prince_ Tritannus of the Andros, first son of King Neptune, King of the Sea." He stared at me with a haughty and expecting smirk as if expecting me to suddenly drop to my knees and start worshipping him. Oh great. _Another_ majorroyal pain. I escaped one just to run into another.

I didn't give him the satisfaction he wanted. "Who's the other one?" I asked, my gaze shifting to the one identical to Tritannus.

"I'm Nereus." He lifted his hand in a wave and smiled kindly. "Nice to meet you."

I kept my face even, but my heart softened a bit. At least both of them weren't jerks. "I'm Acadia," I said, "it's nice to meet you too, Nereus and Tritannus." I studied them. I think I recognized them a little. They definitely weren't from the original series, so where— _OH._ Were they from season 5? I knew it was water-themed or something, but I didn't watch it because the new Winx Club was literally garbage. I only identified these two because I saw a few screenshots on the occasional blog or two (only a true Winx Club fanatic read the blogs (and then erased it from their browser history so your siblings wouldn't find out you were crazy about a show intended for girls under the age of 10). I guess a true Winx Club fan would also watch the new seasons as well, but Nickelodeon was garbage. But hey, better them than Disney).

Suddenly, Tritannus looked very insulted. _"Fool,"_ he spat, "don't address me so casually. I'm ranked higher than you." He giving me that snobbish look again, clearing expecting me to "redeem myself" and apologize formally. And _then_ worship him. Again, not gonna happen.

"Forgive me," I said with a shrug, " _Tritannus_."

Tritannus looked taken aback for a second. This was obviously a prince who wasn't used to being defied. The anger kicked in a few seconds later. "Insolate commoner! Don't you know to pay proper respect to those more important than you?"

"Tritannus!" hissed Nereus, shooting his brother a sharp look and then directing an apologetic one at me.

"What are you gonna do?" I challenged, "have your dad sic his hitmen on me to off me in my sleep?" I actually panicked for a split second, realizing that could actually happen but then I remembered King Neptune's forces were probably merman so they had no chance of getting to me, one who was on land. And then to prove me wrong, I had a few flashbacks of season 3, specifically that Andros episode. OH FUCK. Merpeople _could_ fly. I WAS SO SCREWED. But Nereus and Tritannus didn't have wings! So maybe it was just the mermaids, meaning King Neptune _couldn't_ dispatch his hired guns (or tridents. Or whatever the fuck merpeople fought with) against me. Unless they were female. SCREWED AS FUCK.

"Look, sorry about throwing that rock," I said quickly, "I didn't know you guys were out here. I heard you were a monster or something." I regretted saying "or something." It made me sound like a dumb land creature, as Tritannius insisted I was.

"Fool," he insulted again, "no monsters or fiends dwell in this lake. These are sacred waters. Didn't you know that?"

I knew he knew I didn't. He was just trying to make me look ignorant. And how was Lake Roccaluce "sacred?" Man, I really should've watched season 5. "No," I said matter-of-factly, "I didn't. And if you guys are from Andros, how are you on Magix?" Since they didn't have legs, merpeople were bound to the water, meaning they couldn't hop planet to planet via starships.

I must've asked another stupid question because Tritannus furrowed his brows and stared like I was more than a fool. Even Nereus was looking at me kind of funny. "Are _all_ land dwellers this dense?" asked Tritannus sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "The waters of the magic dimension are connected, just like the planets they belong to. Just like your kind use portals to travel from planet to planet, we people of the sea use a series of gateways that magically link all the oceans of the dimension. Anything _else_ you'd like to ask, human?"

DUH. In the Real World, there was little to no explanation or detailed clarification about mermaids other than the clearly stated facts they were mythical people with fish tails. I had a whole BUNCH of question to ask. Like, _how do you guys have babies?_ Or, _how do you have sex?_ Or better yet, _how in the FUCK do you guys poop and pee?_ Mermaids and mermen ate, so they had to get rid of waste SOMEHOW. I once tried looking for some answers on the internet, but .com was no help. Either people said they pooped like goldfish or they didn't poop at all. I wanted to ask the real questions so bad, but that would just be rude and creepy. How was I even supposed to ask? _Yo, how do you guys shit?_

"Tritannus, you don't have to be so rude," scolded Nereus, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"As a matter of fact, I _do_ have a question," I announced, sliding down the bank closer toward the edge where they floated. "Are you guys brothers?"

Tritannus just blinked. "Clearly," he said thinly, "we _look_ like each other." I swear I heard him mumble "Unfortunately." "Actually, he looks like _me._ I'm older."

"Only by a few minutes," corrected Nereus.

Wait. So they didn't hatch out of eggs or something? They were actually birthed like mammals regardless of being half fish? But...HOW? WHERE THE HELL DID THE BABIES COME OUT OF? FROM WHICH BODY PART OF A MERMAID DID THEY POP OUT OF? WHERE THE HECK WAS THE MERMAID'S WOMB? IN THE TAIL? WHAT EVEN TOOK PLACE IN ORDER FOR A MERMAID TO GET PREGNANT? DID MERMAIDS EVEN HAVE PRIVATE PARTS? I WAS SO CONFUSED. But I didn't show it. I just nodded like I completely understood. And I did. To an extent.

Tritannus must've sensed my puzzlement because he smiled at me in a chilling matter so familiar I thought I was staring at Icy for a second. "Careful, brother. You speak of things her small ground-creature brain cannot comprehend."

"Actually, I am a bit confused," I admitted, fighting a blush of embarrassment. "I don't know much about your kind. I'm from…" I hesitated. I thought about saying the desert since that would make sense but I couldn't remember where I told the Winx I was from and I wanted my stories to add up. "I'm from somewhere very remote," I said instead, "I've never even seen a merperson until now."

For some odd reason, Tritannus took this another chance to exalt himself. "And how fortunate you are, to lay eyes on the imperials of the sea as your first time witnessing a— _wait. WHAT_ did you call us?"

Yeesh, what was his problem? "A merperson," I repeated, "as in mermen and mermaids."

"You really _don't_ know anything about us," scoffed Tritannus, "we're not…'merpeople.' And there are no 'mermen.' What's that even supposed to be? _Mermaids_ made masculine? No, the correct term is _triton._ The females are called mermaids, the males are _tritons_."

Well, damn. "So, do you still use the same gender terms as us?" I asked, "like _man_ , _woman_ , _boy,_ and _girl_?"

"You really _are_ stupid, aren't you?"

Nereus gave Tritannus a look of warning. "Please, don't mind him. He's just being high-minded again."

"No, it's fine. He's right. I _am_ stupid. That's exactly why His Royal Highness is going to enlighten me. Isn't that right, Tritannus?"

* * *

"Hey, can I touch your tail?" I asked Nereus a good two hours later. I was still at the lake with the mermen— _tritons_. We were all sitting along the edge of the lake, dangling our bare feet and tail fins in the water. Yes, Nereus and Tritannius were _sitting_ on the _ground_ beside me. It kinda freaked me out at first to see them hoist themselves out of the water and sit the way two-leggers sat regardless of having legs, but I got used to it. I mean, the pictures back in the Real World depicted mermaids sitting on rocks all the time. But did that mean they technically had an ass inside their tail? Ugh, whatever. All the questions were making my head hurt. I really wanted to just bombard Tritannus and Nereus with all of them, but that would make me look like a weirdo and they probably wouldn't want to hang around me anymore. Usually, I wouldn't give a shit about what anyone thought, but Nereus and Tritannus were pretty chill _and_ polar opposites. Nereus was the friendly, talkative type (hence the reason we were still here two hours later) and Tritannus liked to talk to—that is, if he was insulting someone or singing his own praises. Tritannus was basically another Riven—but maybe worse. He was undoubtedly unpleasant. But to be honest, I liked him—barely. That was why I asked Nereus instead; I didn't want to trigger Tritannus again and risk hearing him rant about my "dirty land-creature" hands. I think I might've triggered him _anyway_ because he snorted, like I had bad taste and should've asked him instead.

"Sure." Nereus nodded and smiled encouraging. He lifted his snake-like tail out of the water. I had to stand up and take a few steps into the shallow end to reach it. I gently glided my fingers against his scales. The water beads clinging to them caught the evening sunlight leaking through the treetops, making his tail glisten and look more define. Now I could see the faint colors that formed the unique patterns all along his silver-ish blue tail. I carefully traced my fingers down the length of his tail and when I came to his fin toward the end, I glanced at him as if asking permission. He smiled and nodded. Tritannius made a sound of disgust. I stroked his fin in awe, surprised by how light and silky it felt. When I as satisfied, I returned to my feet and Nereus dropped his tail back in the water with a splash, making the evening sun's reflection on the surface of the water ripple.

I held up my feet and wiggled my toes playfully. "Have you ever touched two-leggers' feet?" I asked him.

Nereus nodded. "When we were children, my cousin Aisha would let me. They feel…fleshy. And soft." Whoa, foot fetish much? But I wasn't focused on that part. I was more surprised by the fact he called Aisha _cousin._ And then it all made sense. Aisha's parents were rulers of Andros, the water planet, so it'd make sense they'd be related. And now when I thought back on season 3, there was actually an episode when Aisha and the Winx went to help her cousin Tress, a mermaid, save her mother, the queen of mermaids and tritons from captivity. If she was the queen of the merfolk, then she was King Neptune's wife, making her Nereus and Tritannus's mother as well and Aisha's aunt. That realization comforted me for some reason. It made me feel a little bit closer to Aisha, even though we had yet to meet. I wasn't worried, however. She was coming soon, and I couldn't wait. _**WAIT.**_ Aisha was a fairy _,_ which were humans or something similar. In what way was she related to Nereus and Tritannus? By blood? Because if so, either her mother or father had to related to either King Neptune or Queen Ligea, which didn't make sense considering one party was human and the other wasn't. So Aisha's, Tritannus's, and Nereus's grandmother somehow managed to push out a son with _legs_ and then another with a _tail_? What was she? A mermaid or a human woman? If so, how did she manage to give birth to two completely different species? UGH, Winx Club was more complex than I thought.

Right when I was about to say something on my mind, a little voice called out to us from the water. "Princes Nereus and Tritannus!" My head snapped up to see a small, bright blue and wingless mermaidlike creature waving at us from the water.

"A selkie," explained Nereus when he caught me staring, "one of the many gatekeepers of the waters of the Magic Dimension."

"Your Highnesses, it is time to return to the royal palace on Andros," said the selkie in an adorable voice, swimming over. "King Neptune awaits." King Neptune. I wondered what he looked like. The first thing that came to my mind was Neptune from SpongeBob. I stifled a laugh.

"Well, I guess that means it's time to go," I announced, rising to my feet. "It's getting late anyway. I have to get back to Alfea soon." I put my shoes back on as Nereus and Tritannus fell forward into the water.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Acadia. I bid you farewell." Nereus gave me a respectful bow of the head and I hated how much I loved it. I also couldn't help but notice Tritannus was already diving underwater, apparently too good for proper departure. Whatever. Screw him too.

"Same. Thanks for clarifying some things."

We kept it short, mostly because I was eager to get back to Alfea. It was around dinnertime and I was hungrier than a lion's pregnant bitch. As I started toward the trail, I felt Nereus's gaze lingering on my backside as I walked away from the lake. I glance over my shoulder and waved. He smiled and waved back.

When I made it up the bank and back on the walking trail, I looked back one more time.

And all I saw was Nereus's magnificent, upside down Y-shaped tail glowing in the sunlight as it slapped the surface of the water before completely submerging under it.


	19. Trillium Moon

**A/n: Not the original chapter 19. The last one was laced with too many mistakes and stuff, so I re-did it. Enjoy!**

* * *

For students everywhere, regardless of the realm, universe, or dimension, there was one word that served as an instant stress trigger.

 _Midterms._

Our first set was coming up in two weeks, and I was already freaking the fuck out. Could you blame me? I mean, _look_ at what I was getting in my classes thus far:

Charms: C  
Transmutation: C  
Potionology: B  
Defensive and Strategic Magic and Mechanics (D&S for short): C  
History of Magic: D  
Elvish Year 1: B

Academic grading in Magix actually took the form of letters from another alphabet, but I used their English equivalence (speaking of English, did you know it was called 'Basic' in the Magic Dimension? There were thousands of thousands of different languages, but Basic was the most common. I was wondering why everyone spoke English) so you could truly understand how miserable my grades were. See why I was panicking? If I failed my exams I'd literally be failing more than _half_ of my classes. I'd be doing worse than Stella!

And the worst part was that it wasn't even my fault I was doing so poorly. I legit had ZERO knowledge in/experience with magic prior to attending Alfea; in other words, I didn't know _shit_. So _of course_ my grades wouldn't the best. It was a miracle I was even getting C's.

Scratch what I said earlier—that WASN'T the worst part. What was actuall _y_ the _true_ worst part was the fact I only had _two weeks_ to turn my luck around. Only _two weeks_ to study and improve in _four_ subjects.

RIP.

With such a small deadline to meet, I had no choice but to devote my heart, body, and soul to evil practice known as binge studying.

I decided to start with History of Magic first since that was my most pitiful grade. Unfortunately, I was not the only one failing the class because when I got to Alfea's library, all the history textbooks had already been checked out. Legit, the shelves were _fucking cleared out._

 _Dammit,_ I wanted to scream at the world. Just... _dammit!_

But wait! Not all hope was lost! Magix Grand Public Library was not far away from here and according to Tecna, it was one of the biggest libraries in the dimension with over 15 _million_ different volumes. 15 freaking million. With all those books in one place I'd be in student heaven. But there was only one problem:

THE FUCK WHERE MY LIBRARY CARD?

I'd been looking for it for the past thirty minutes and I had a better chance of finding Nemo. I searched every inch of Amaryl and I's room without any luck, frustrating me to the core. I knew I had one because I had used it to gain access to one of the computers in the library before school started, but now it was gone without a trace.

Please tell me I didn't lose it somewhere. Why is it things _always_ went missing right when I needed it?

Wait. Hold on a second. Could it be...?

I lifted up my mattress.

DAMMIT.

There it was, my shiny metallic library card. And it was sitting among a bunch of other items I'd lost earlier in the year: one of my favorite socks, a pair of earrings, my nail clippers. How'd all this shit end up under here?

Eh, I'd worry about that later. For now, I needed to get some studying done ASAP. I only had so much time before curfew and I needed to spend every minute of it reading my eyes out and cramming my mind with knowledge I'd forget the second midterms were over.

When I exited my room I was surprised to find our hall mistress, Ms. Nikolaeva, standing in the living room. My first instinct was ask, "What did Amaryl do this time?" Ms. Nikolaeva had already visited us twice beforehand, once because Amaryl thought it'd be a good idea to blast R&B at 2:45am on a _Monday_ and once because she had to confiscate the space heater Amaryl had managed to smuggle in.

"Nothing. _Yet,"_ said Ms. Nikolaeva with a soft laugh, in an accent that'd be deemed as Russian back on Earth. "I'm here to help your new roommate get settled in." Like most of Alfea's staff, Ms. N was gray-haired, but she was far from being a crabby old woman, unlike Griselda.

"New roommate?" I repeated, just now acknowledging the luggage and bags sitting in a heap on the floor. This was the first I was hearing of this. Besides me, the only ones who lived in this apartment were Ahisa (Fairy of Love), Amaryl (Fairy of Starlight), Alice (Fairy of Ice), and Lolina (Fairy of Electricity), all who had been minor backgrounder fairies in the original first and second seasons of the cartoon. Including me, that made five. The standard apartment could room six people in three bedrooms, so it'd make sense the newcomer would end up here. That would mean she'd end up in the room with Alice, who had been the only one with her own room up until now.

And sure enough, a girl stepped out of Alice's room. And let me just say this: _whoa._ This girl was _stunning._ She was Korean—or what we'd call Korean back on Earth since Korea didn't exist here—with soft, flawless skin and even softer glossy pink lips. Her shiny black hair spilled down her back like a waterfall and her eyes were a distinctive color—like a drip of blood spilled in a lake—and were lined with glittery pencil.

She flashed a somewhat shy smile at me. "Hi. I'm Mi-Sun." Whoa, even her NAME was Korean.

I raised my hand in a wave. "Hi. I'm Acadia." I was legit surprised. Me and my roomies hadn't expected a new girl to show up until next semester but here was Mi-Sun, a new student who decided to show up _right before_ midterms. That was a bit unusual, but who was I to talk? I was the same one who just randomly appeared in a another universe—dimension—whatever-the-fuck in my sleep.

As much as I'd love to stay and chat with the new girl, I had places to be. I didn't have time to chat.

Just as I was entering the hallway, my phone tweeted with a new text.

 _Musa: Dragontail ASAP_

Okay, so maybe I _did_ have time to chat for a little. Wait, _Dragontail?_ OH. Yeah, that's right. Every apartment in ALFEA's dormitories had an official name and the Winx's was called Dragontail. I had nearly forgotten about that since everyone rarely referred to their apartment by their formal names. The apartment I resided in was called Whytewich (I think). A _severely_ suckish name compared to Dragontail, which was sounded _so_ badass.

I strode down the hall and on my way into the Winx's apartment I stopped to stare at the name plaque beside the door. It read _Dragontail_ inscribed in a detailed drawing of a scaly dragon's tail. _So badass._

Musa was waiting for me inside. She handed me a golden envelope. The seal was already broken meaning she'd already looked at what was inside, which was a black card trimmed with gold. I slipped it out. An invitation. _The_ invitation. OMG.

"It's not even Friday yet," I said, flipping the card over and staring at the address written on it in golden cursive. "You were supposed to get this tomorrow."

Musa shrugged. "I guess 'her people' hooked her up early." She was trying to be nonchalant but I could feel the anxiety radiating off her.

"You know you don't have to go," I said. This wasn't her first time hearing it; Bloom had been reminding her ever since the confrontation in the bathroom. "Candi could just be trying to scare you. She couldn't care less if you went."

Musa bit her lip. "Maybe. But we both know you don't cross her." Yeah. We _both_ knew the rumors and considering how vile Candi was, they were all probably true.

Just then, the door opened and Bloom and Tecna strolled into the living room engaged in mid-conversation. "So we could all have rat heads in one of them?" Bloom was asking Tecna.

That caught my attention. "Huh?" I stared at them.

"Oh, Tecna was telling me about something she learned in physics class," said Bloom. By "learned", Bloom basically meant "reviewed." Being a genius, Tecna was the _only_ freshman in all of Alfea who was taking a senior course. And even so, physics was just barely a step above child's play for her. She already knew all the material and then some. That was probably one of the reasons many of our classmates hated her. Because she was a "know-it-all".

"There are ten different dimensions of space and one dimension of time in reality," explained Bloom.

"I personally believe there are _two_ dimensions of time," said Tecna, taking a seat on the couch and whipping out her handheld. "But the professor refuses to accept my theory. I do not understand why the science department would bother hiring someone so small-minded. I cannot wait until I collect enough evidence and prove him to be the simpleton he really is." RIP Tecna's physics teacher.

"Anyway, Tecna said it's possible there are different versions of us living in the dimension parallel to ours, almost like its twin. Like, we could all be cat people there. Or we could all be evil." For some reason, that sent a shiver down my spine. Imagine a universe where _Bloom_ was evil. There'd be no stopping her. She could desolate the WHOLE dimension. And to make things worse, being the keeper of the Flame, she would probably be able to cross over into other dimensions as well. No universe or realm or ANYTHING in reality would be safe from her. I was definitely more comfortable with the cat people theory. At least that'd be something like a kawaii anime.

WAIT.

"So in one of these universes, could magic be...nonexistent?" I wondered aloud, directing the question toward Tecna.

"Most definitely. In fact, it's my belief magic is only existent in this dimension—the whole reason it's called the _Magic_ Dimension—and the dimension parallel to ours. There's a high chance the other eight dimensions lack the supernatural structure ours has. But I'm not completely sure. Dimension-jumping is currently near impossible."

WAIT, WAIT, WAIT. So did the Real World exist in one of those eight? So the Magic Dimension _wasn't_ a fictional setting, but a real _place_ beyond the science and logic of that in the Eighth Dimension? So instead of being transported into some kind of prolonged dream, I just got transported into another dimension? But if the world of the Winx Club was just another part of reality, how was it a cartoon in my dimension? I WAS CO CONFUSED.

"Hey, what's that?" asked Bloom, eyeing the envelope in my hand. Oh, right. I almost forgot I was holding the damned thing.

"The invitation," said Musa shortly.

Bloom's eyes bulged. "You're kidding. Candi hasn't acknowledged us all week so I was kind of hoping she forgot about it." She paused. "Please tell me you're not going, Musa. Candi's not worth it."

"Agreed. Candi is a outrageously corpulent imbecile and a dreadfully fiendish libertine," nodded Tecna. Bloom and I stared at her.

"She's a slut and she's fucking retarded," translated Musa. "And I think I am going. I just...I don't want Candi and the Trix to think I'm weak." Riven, too. But she was too prideful to say it. "Because, let's face it. Those witches are probably in on it too. And if I don't show they'll just harass me."

"Well, if that's what you want. You're not going alone. We'll all go with you. We can ring up the Specialists too. I'm sure Prince Sky would love to go and I know Brandon will come to keep an eye on Riven. We'll all have your back."

Musa managed a grateful smile. "Thanks, girls," she said, relaxing.

Just then, Flora emerged from her and Bloom's ready. She had probably just got watering her many plants. "Alright, I'm done. Ready to go?" she asked Bloom.

"Go where?" I asked.

"Flora and I have another job interview," replied Bloom, "hopefully, this one will go better." Oh yeah, they were still job hunting. They'd started with Musa a few weeks ago. Musa had been fortunate enough to seize a job at Alfea's Libraries (talk about lucky. She didn't even have to leave campus to work!), meanwhile Bloom and Flora hadn't really had any luck. They'd go on an interview from time to time, but had yet to successfully secure a job.

"Good luck." I checked the time of my phone. "I should be going too. I'm actually on my way to the library in town. Gotta start studying for midterms."

Musa groaned the mention of our exams. "Ugh, me too. I'm probably just going to wait until the last minute like usual."

"Hey, how about Bloom and I meet up with you after our interview?" suggested Flora, "at around four thirty? We can meet on Upolm Avenue and all walk back to school together. It's safer if we travel in groups to and from school. I heard a few schoolgirls from Cloud Tower have gone missing over the weekend."

"Good riddance," muttered Musa. Flora shot Musa a stern look. "I mean, how unfortunate."

"Don't worry, Flora. No one would be desperate enough to kidnap us," joked Bloom.

Musa stared at her. "Don't jinx it."

* * *

I needed a fucking Snickers.

When I finally emerged from Magix Grand Public Library, the light from the early evening sun burned my crusty, probably bloodshot eyes. I recoiled like a vampire, retreating into the vestibule until my eyes adjusted to the natural light. Damn, that was _bright._ I'd spent the past hour and a half hunched over a thicker-than-your-thigh textbook in the darkest corner of the library and my eyes had grown used to the darkness.

And my head… _oh my head._ It felt ten times heavier from all that studying, weighing the rest of me down. It was pounding like a drum to the degree I could just barely hear myself think. Ugh, I felt like shit.

As I advanced down the busy sidewalk, I checked the time on my phone. I was supposed to meet Flora and Bloom on the corner of Upolm Avenue in five minutes. Wait, where the fuck was Upolm Avenue?

I paused for a brief moment to launch the map app on my phone. Oh, it was just across the street. Convenient.

After I crossed the street and nearly got run over (damned floating car), I touchdowned on Upolm Ave. just as Flora and Bloom were rounding the corner. I immediately knew something was wrong; they looked too…crestfallen.

"What happened?" I demanded the second they were in earshot.

Flora sighed, facepalming. "The interview was a _disaster._ The owner of the restaurant could barely look at us the whole time."

"Huh? Why?" I wrinkled my nose as we started down the avenue in the direction of Alfea.

"Because we're fairies," said Flora with a deep frown, "that's probably the reason we haven't heard anything from any of the other employers either. For some reason, a lot of people over in this area discriminate against fairies. I don't know why, but I _do_ know it's going to be impossible for Bloom and I to find a job at this rate—"

"This place is hiring," cut in Bloom eagerly. We turned to find she had paused in the middle of the sidewalk a few feet behind us, staring into the window of one of the shops.

Flora and I strode over and Bloom pointed out the printout taped to the tinted window. According to it, the owner of the store was in desperate need of a cashier, an assistant manager, and a stock clerk.

"I don't know, Bloom," said Flora reluctantly, giving the façade of the shop a skeptical once-over. I understood her hesitation; even from the outside this place was obviously weird. For starters, while the neighboring stores and buildings were modeled like structures out of a science fiction utopia with sleek and futuristic glass exteriors, this place had an eighteenth-century-London storefront composed of nothing but chocolate-covered bricks, making it stick out like a sore thumb. And while all the other stores had distinct electronic and holographic display boards, this place has an old-fashioned sign above the door that read _Trillium Moon._ _Wait,_ _Trillium Moon_ _? That name was oddly familiar._

"I've never heard of this place before. We don't know what kind of store is it," pointed out Flora, peering through the window. Unfortunately, the tinted film made it impossible to see what was on the other side of the glass.

I nodded. "For all we know it could be a sex shop and when we walk in there'll be mannequins wearing bondage outfits and shit." _Crap_ , why'd I have to say that? Now I was thinking about Griselda's _you-know-what._

Bloom pointed to a paper advertisement (a rare sight in a city ruled by all things technological) posted beside the printout. "It says here they sell things like potions, spellbooks, and enchanted items, so it's a magic shop."

That piqued my interest. Though I'd been in Magix for some time now, I had yet to step into a magic shop like the ones in all those fantasy novels and anime.

"I think we should check this place out," announced Bloom, who seemed just as curious as me. "This might sound weird, but it just feels like we need to be in there."

Flora, however, was still uncertain. "What if the owner is like everyone else and won't hire us because we're fairies?"

Bloom dismissed her suspicions by referring to the help-wanted. "According to this, the jobs are available to anyone who is qualified regardless of background, race, or species. If that's the case, we actually have a good chance of getting hired. We'll just run in, ask for an application, and then we can go back to school."

Flora gave in. "Fine." Bloom smiled, triumphant.

A guy who resembled Helia was exiting the shop just as we were about to enter, and he courteously held the door for us. He was around our age and I wasn't gonna lie; dude was pretty damn cute. Most girls would've been gawking at his muscular build, but it was his _hair_ that did it for me. Colored this dark teal color, his hair was short and shaped kind of weird, flaring out to the sides in a manner that defied all hair logic back in the Real World. And to add on to the abnormality of his hair-do, the bangs that framed both sides of his face were somehow a lighter shade of teal than the rest of his hair. Damn, fantasy hair was so awesome. What was in these people's genetics that made their tresses so freaking bad-ass?

"Thank you." Flora flashed him a sunny smile. I half-expected Teal Hair to gape at her boobs but this guy was indifferent, his face completely blank. He didn't even look at her. Whoa. Dude was respectful. Or gay.

The three of us advanced through the doorway and into a small space, where we descended a small set of steps and into the store, or more appropriately, another world. The shop itself was substantial in size, but had a cozy feeling to it thanks to all the magical merchandise it was jam-packed with. It was like something depicted out of a fantasy novel, a place that only existed in the most vivid of imaginations. Mounted objects and neat rows of shelves, drawers, and glass-front armoires of mystical ingredients, items, and potions lined every wall to the degree you could just barely catch a glimpse of the dark hued wallpaper behind them. And even then, the visible portions were spanned with thick, lush ivy that were dotted with flowers. Heavy mahogany tables, trunks, counters, and bureaus were randomly yet efficiently set all through the space, all their surfaces topped with stacks of thick tomes, potted plants, bottles of colorful substances, and candles.

A sprawling tree that looked it had grown into the very foundation sided the stairs at the entrance, its roots embedding deep into the warm, dark hardwood floors like muscular snakes. . It'd probably gotten so big from all the sun pouring into the shop through the skylights in the high ivy-blanketed ceiling. For a more decorative effect, plants in hanging baskets and spherical lighting fixtures dangled from its higher branches.

Beside the tree was a cozy alcove with a counter and cash register and across from that was a narrow pair of wooden stairs leading up to a balconied mezzanine, where the space was overwhelmed with goods fixed on the walls and stored in display cabinets that were bordered with vines trailed with colorful blooms. Every corner, every inch of Trillium Moon whispered with magic and possessed a pleasantly natural vibe, instantly making it one of the most comfortable places I've ever visited in Magix. The atmosphere in here right different; there was just something about the vanilla-scented air that was lighter, easier to breathe. It made my lungs tingle in a good way and filled me with a tranquility that made me forget all about my hectic school life.

The three of us were so intrigued by our surroundings we barely noticed the elderly woman appearing from behind a curtain in the back. "Welcome, dears," she greeted us warmly. The lady was a little on the short side and slightly hunched over with a wrinkly face and a somewhat pointy nose, where a pair of glasses were perched. Despite her obvious old age, her hair, which was tied in a loose and thick bun atop her head, was a faint natural-looking blond color. "What can I do for you lovely young ladies?" As she neared us with the aid of her walking cane, I acknowledged the distinctive, magical air about her. Judging her aura, this woman was a powerful sorceress. Yet, she wasn't giving off that daunting high-and-mighty, fear-me-or-I'll-turn-you-into-a-toad impression most strong sorcerers in novels and movies were often portrayed to exude. No, this lady's presence was the completely opposite. It was welcoming, just like this store. And apparently, Flora felt the same way because she visibly relaxed. Just like that, her frustration from the unfruitful day dissolved into nonexistence like magic.

Flora gave the lady one of her signature golden smiles. "Good evening, ma'am. My friend and I saw your flyer in the window and we have a few questions about your available positions."

There was a glint in the woman's eyes. "I know. I've been expecting you."

Bloom gaped. _"Really?"_

"No, I'm just messing with you," she chuckled, "I haven't had a vision in years." She then turned toward the curtain and called, "Hey, Violet. Get out here, you old crone. We have fresh meat."

 _Fresh meat?_

Immediately afterward, another elderly lady shuffled out from the back room. She was noticeably younger than the first, as her face wasn't as creased with age and she walked without the support of a cane. Her grayless brown hair was also fixed in a bun, but her do was more on the neater and elegant side with a braided headband. "Welcome to Trillium Moon!" she greeted merrily. "I'm Violet. You three must be here to apply for the openings we have. Please, ignore my older sister Andelle. She has a way of scaring off recruits, the old fool."

"Recruits? What recruits?" scoffed Andelle, "these are the first ones we've had since we fired our last employees."

Bloom snuck a confident grin at Flora. They were the first in line for the job.

Andelle gave Violet a playfully hard look. "What are you doing just ing around, you old hag? Don't just leave our guests standing about. Get the pillows."

"Only if you get the tea," countered Violet.

"Screw tea. I want a soda. You girls want a soda?"

"Yes," I replied instantly. To be honest, I _needed_ a soda after all the stress I'd just undergone. Besides, who'd be dumb enough to turn down a free soda? (That was slight sarcasm. Don't go around accepting things from strangers, kids!)

Flora shot me a look. "That won't be necessary, ma'ams. We're just here for an application," she informed politely.

Andelle refused to hear it. "Nonsense, nonsense. My sister and I love having company. We'll discuss things over a nice cream soda." And with that, she disappeared back into the back room.

Meanwhile, Violet was using her magic to levitate the furniture in the center of the room out of the way and replace them with plush cushions that had appeared out of thin air. She positioned them in a neat circle, right there in the middle of the store. Wait. _What the fuck was going on here_? What if a customer came in and found us all sitting in a ring like we were in some kind of book club session or some shit?

Apparently, this didn't cross Violet's mind. Or she didn't care. "Make yourself at home, dears," she said, stiffly lowering herself on a pillow. How her old-ass bones could handle sitting on the floor, I didn't know.

Bloom didn't hesitate to sit down. She seated herself by Violet, smiling comfortably. She didn't seem bothered by how fast things were escalating or the fact these ladies were being abnormally kind to us. I recalled how she said it felt like she needed to be here, within the walls of Trillium Moon (ugh, _where_ did I here that before? It sounds so familiar!). Maybe this all was happening for a reason. Maybe Bloom's instincts—no, maybe the _Dragon Flame_ had purposely guided her here. But for what reasons? Was there something here that related to her destiny? Or maybe _someone?_ That possibility made me see the situation in a new light.

At this point, Andelle was emerging from the back room with a serving tray of soda bottles. After handing them out, she sat down next to Violet, opened her soda with a _pop_ , _took a long, slow sip of her soda._ It was kind of funny, watching her drink it. I'd never seen an old person down anything but prune juice that fast. Flora and Bloom took small sips of theirs, probably anxious to get this thing started already. I, on the other hand, chugged half the can in thirty minutes. Hey, what could I say? Nothing tasted better than a free soda. Eventually, once Andelle felt like she had enough, finally pried the bottle away from her crusty lips (not to be mean or anything, but they looked so dry). "Nothing hits the spot like a cold soda," she said, to no one in particular. She set her bottle on the floor and gave her crossed legs a slap. "Okay, now that we're all hydrated, let's get down to business. Welcome to Trillium Moon. I'm Andelle and this is my sister, Violet, the severely ancient owners of this magic store. I understand you three are interested in working here?"

Flora sat straighter. Yes. I'm Flora and only me and my friend Bloom are interested in applying part-time. Acadia just decided to come with us. We're all freshmen at the Alfea College for Fairies, so we're interested in working part-time."

Violet nodded. "That's fine. Perfect, actually. My sister and I only need assistance in the late afternoon and evening when the store's the busiest."

"Alfea, huh? How's Faragonda doing? Is she still running the show over there?" asked Andelle.

"You know Headmistress Faragonda?" inquired Bloom, surprised.

Andelle chuckled. "Of course. Don't all old people know each other?"

"I have a question," I piped up. The sisters looked at me expectantly. "Why did you guys name this place Trillium Moon? That names sounds kinda familiar." The question might've been off-topic, but I needed to know where I'd heard that name before. I couldn't put my finger on it and it was driving me crazy.

"My sister and I named it in honor of the coven we proudly used to be a part of," said Violet simply, "the White Witches of Trillium Moon. This very building used to be our original gathering place."

RECORD SCRATCH.

Bloom nearly choked on her soda. "Wait, did you say _witches?_ You're a _witch_?" She was obviously in disbelief.

Andelle chuckled. "Yep."

I gawked. "You can't be a witch. You're too nice." I was legit confused here. How were these old ladies so good-natured meanwhile practically EVERY witch at Cloud Tower was just a snake made flesh? Unless this was some kind of trick... OMG. What if these old people really _were_ wicked to the core and were just trying to put us under their spell for the sake of some devious scheme? Suddenly, I regretted drinking this soda...Okay, not really (this stuff was refreshing as fuck) but I _definitely_ became a little bit more vigilant.

"Yes. No offense, Ms. Andelle, but you're nothing like a witch," agreed Bloom with a nod. Though we hadn't known them long, that much was obvious. They didn't have that... _witch vibe._

Andelle just laughed at her statement, not insulted in the slightest. "What, surprised we don't fit the stereotype?" The amusement suddenly drained from her face and was replaced with solemnity. "Listen, girls. Never judge a sorceress or _anyone_ by the magic they wield. Terms like fairy and witch are just labels. Whatever magic one has does not define their personality. That's one reality people are ignorant of these days."

 _Violet assented._ "My sister and I practice the dark arts, yet we barely refer to ourselves as witches anymore because there are far too many negative connotations to the word these days. We are not Satanists, we are not vile and vicious, and we do not put curses on innocents or oppress them. We don't even seek world domination or _any_ form of domination. In summary, being a witch does that automatically make a sorceress evil. Just like being a fairy does not make one good." I guess that made sense. Good ol' Candi was a fairy but was basically a she-devil incarnate.

"I agree. In fact, one of my oldest friends is a witch," stated Flora with a soft smile. OH YEAH, MIRTA. I nearly forgot about her!

"But to continue on the Trillium Moon subject. The name's probably familiar to you because the White Witches of Trillium Moon was a part of the Great War of Witches," said Violet, "you've probably learned about it in school at some point."

And just like that, everything came flooding back to me.

OF COURSE!

The White Witches of Trillium Moon! How did I forget so fast? I'd literally just read something about them at the library an hour ago. To find some more information on some of the topics that'd be on the History of Magix midterm, I had picked up one of those thick-ass textbooks and while I was skimming through the pages, I briefly read over some of the chapter called "The Great Witch War." That was where I remembered Trillium Moon from. Since I didn't need any information on the particular subject and hadn't bothered to retain anything I read about it, I distinctively remembered seeing something about the White Witches of Trillium Moon.

Flora's eyes widened. "I've been reading ahead in history lately and now that you've mentioned it, I actually remember learning a little about the Great Witch War."

Bloom wrinkled her nose. "The Great War of Witches?" she repeated.

Flora bobbed her head. "Five hundred years ago, the strongest witch covens went to war over the power of the Dragon Flame."

That caught my attention. "The Dragon Flame?" I repeated, stealing a glance at Bloom.

"Indeed. That was a dark time period," said Andelle, "at that time, _everyone_ fought for the power of the Great Dragon. Me, my sister, and the rest of the White Witches of Trillium Moon tried to speak some sense into the other covens because we understood what they did not: that the Dragon Fire was not a power one could simply take." What the—? If that was the case, how the hell did the Trix manage to steal Bloom's power in the cartoon? "It was a very special power, a power the Great Dragon itself had to bestow upon an equally as special magician, the prophesized Chosen One," continued Andelle, "anyone who wasn't this extraordinary individual had no business seeking its power."

"But, unfortunately, they didn't listen." Violet shook her head sadly. "They had already been corrupted by their greed and drove most of the entire Dark Arts community into war, forcing everyone to fight." Whoa. That was some deep shit. Bloom's power had to _really_ be the shit if it forced practically _one half_ of Magix's entire magic population into conflict. Then I became uncomfortable. If the people were willing to go to war for the GF, what would they do when they found out Bloom was the Chosen One? Besides the Trix, who else would be possessed enough to target her, hunt her? What lengths would they go to?

"In the end, no one won the war," went on Andelle with a sad shake of her head , "it was a complete waste of magic, resources, and lives."

Bloom's eyebrows shot up. " _Wait_. Hold on. If that war happened five hundred years ago, exactly how old are you two?"

Andelle laughed quietly. "I was eighty-five when the war started. You do the math."

Bloom's eyes bulged. "You're over half a millennium in age. How'd you guys live so long?" She was truly amazed. Back on Earth, you were truly blessed to make it to _90_ , let alone 100. But over _500_?

Andelle wagged her finger, making a _tisk tisk_ sound. "A lady never reveals her secrets."

Bloom laughed. "You know, I'm still having a hard time believing you two are witches. You're so unlike all the witches we've had to deal with."

"Not all of us are cold-hearted harpies. Give it some time. As you grow older and meet more people, you'll find a lot of individuals don't fit the stereotype," assured Andelle, "even cats."

"Cats?" I echoed. What did cats have to do with anything?

Suddenly, as if on cue, the bell above the entrance rang as the glass door blew open and someone entered Trillium Moon. I expected a customer to appear and stare at us in bewilderment but instead, a cat lazily strolled down into the store. It was brownish-black with eyes a pretty, pale yellow0ish white color and its hair sprouted from its head more in the shape of horns than ears. I'd never seen a cat like it in my life. It was using its tongue to groom its left paw, which was stained red.

Bloom looked puzzled. "You're going to think I'm stupid for asking, but did that cat just open the door?" Andelle nodded. "But…how?"

"Magic," replied Andelle simply.

? Cats could do magic in this universe?

The cat neared us. Now that it was closer I could see the red droplets beading its whiskers. It almost looked like…blood?

Flora, being the sweet and innocent creature she was, scooped the cat up into her arms and showered it with unrelenting affection. "Aren't you cute?" she cooed, practically smothering it.

And then it was at that moment _this_ happened:

"You're not too bad yourself," it said right back in a masculine voice.

RECORD SCRATCH.

WHAT THE F _UCK?_ THIS CAT _LEGIT_ JUST TALKED. IT _LEGIT_ SPOKE _WORDS._ I, apparently, wasn't the only one unnerved by this because Bloom startled in her seat and Flora straight up _dropped_ the creature in total shock. It nimbly landed on all fours and arched its back in a hiss. "Watch it, girl. Would you like it if I dropped _you_?" it said.

"Th-the cat!" Bloom aimed an accusing finger at it, with a gasp. "It just _spoke."_

"Not something you see everything, ha?" said Violet, amused. "He's one of our servants and he's _supposed_ to guard the store." Huh. I kinda figured talking animals would be the norm in this universe, but I guess not.

The cat gave the old lady a distasteful look. "How many times do I have to tell you? I prefer the term _familiar._ And what are you people doing sitting around in the middle of the floor? What is this, group therapy?"

"For a _familiar_ you sure have a way of going as you please," said Andelle, "your only job is to guard the store but instead of being obedient like a good familiar, you disappear for days on end. Where have you been?" She acknowledged the red substance on his paws and whiskers. "And what have you gotten into this time?"

"I just came back from the countryside. Lovely weather around this time of year; lots of gophers too. I hit the mother lode; there were _tons_ of carcasses in the woods. It's hunting season and you know how the humans get trigger happy. I bought enough leftovers to nourish me for the next weeks. Gopher, not antelope. Antelopes are too chewy for my taste."

"Wait. You _ate_ a dead gopher?" I gasped. I knew that was blood! But I thought DOGS ate dead things, not cats.

"I swear you humans' brain size is decreasing by the nanosecond. _Of course_ I ate the gopher. What do you expect me to eat? _Tuna_?"

 _"Yes,"_ squeaked Flora, still rattled by the thought of a talking, assumed-to-be-corpse-eating cat.

"Sorry, baby. I'm a demon, not a Tom. I don't do fish unless it's the killer, bloodthirsty kind native to the waters of Southern Andros."

Wait. This cat was a DEMON?

"What's its name?" I asked Violet, suddenly very excited. I would literally flip my shit if its name was Sebastian. It'd just be too much for my heart to take if I found out the demon cat's name was Sebastian, my favorite character from _Black Butler_ , who, I might add, was a demon himself with a huge fondness for cats.

''Excuse me, but am I not capable of giving my own name? And don't inferiorly refer to me as 'it' like some kind of animal. I'm a demon in the _form_ of an animal. There's a difference."

"His name is Colby," responded Andelle and I swore my heart dropped to my stomach.

"Colby? Like the cheese?" I asked, failing to mask the disappointment in my voice.

"What can I say? Colby jack makes a mean lasagna."

"I'll have you know my name is _not_ Colby," informed the cat, disgusted. "It's _Azriel._ " Standing with his ears and tail erect, he studied us closely before turning to the old ladies. "Don't tell me you're thinking of hiring this lot."

"As a matter of fact, we are. Got a problem with it?" challenged Andelle.

"Completely. The last thing we need are more adolescences in here. The last trio was a disaster. They made a guy want to hack up a gopher," said Azriel matter-of-factly.

"The last trio?" repeated Bloom.

Violet sighed as if she got a headache just thinking about it. "The whole reason we're hiring in the first place is because we had to fire our whole crew. Apparently, our previous employees thought 'they were too good for this place' and went haywire."

"Never meant a more dislikeable group in my life," muttered Andelle, "those girls thought they were the world and then some. Barely did any work, worked up an attitude with all the customers. They were extremely unpleasant and _lazy._ What did they call themselves? The Tears? The Ticks?"

"You'd think they _were_ ticks with how bloodthirsty they were," commented Azriel, "I was tempted to curse them _with_ ticks."

OMG. NO WAY. COULD THEY BE TALKING ABOUT—

"The Trix," Flora, Bloom, and I all said in unison, with a frown.

"That's it! You know them?"

"Unfortunately. They're from Cloud Tower and the literally some of the worst people you'll ever meet," I spat.

"Don't we know it," grumbled Andelle, "they barely did their jobs and were always demanding we teach them the stronger Dark Arts. We refused because we've seen their type a million times and trust me, power and girls like them do not make a good combination. This obviously offended them and they proceeded to show their anger by trashing the whole store."

Bloom gasped. "They didn't."

"Oh they did. Took me and Violet a good week and a half to clean this place up even _with_ magic."

Azriel glowered. "It's a good thing I took a vacation. I'd rather indulge on a feast of day-old road kill then clean up after those harpies any day."

"Road kill? I thought you had game," reminded Violet.

"Oh, there was road kill too. Like I said: I hit the mother lode."

"Like _you_ said: those girls are literally some of the worst people you'll ever meet," agreed Andelle, facing me. "That's why my sister and I are going to hire your friends. We've been alive for centuries, so we're masters at reading people. Though we haven't known each other long, it's obvious you are the Trix's polar opposites. Hiring them was a mistake, but we can sense something different in you all, which is a good thing."

Our jaws slacked. "So you mean we got the job?" asked Bloom, dumbfounded. "But…we didn't even fill out an application yet!"

"That doesn't sound very fair. What about the other people who are going to apply after us?" asked Flora worriedly. "Shouldn't they get a chance?"

Andelle snorted, rising to her crinkly old-person feet. "What 'other people?' There _are_ no other people. In case of girls haven't noticed, we're a group of duo conversational witches-slash-war veterans who work in an unattractively ancient building and keep the company of about a dozen overgrown plants and a corpse-eating demon cat. _Literally_ _no one wants to work for us._ Those three who called themselves the Trix were just desperate degenerates who were too lazy to find another set of sorceresses to harass."

I laughed; l I couldn't help it. The way she said it was just so funny. And apparently, I didn't come across as rude because Andelle laughed too. However, that didn't stop Flora from shooting me a hard look. "This place is _not_ unattractive. In fact, I think it's charming," she said stated matter-of-factly.

Bloom still looked a tad bit unsure. "So…the job is ours?" she asked again as the rest of us stood.

"As long as you and your friend still wish to work here," confirmed Violet, using her magic to put away the cushions.

Andelle turned to face me. "What about you, dear?" She aimed her cane at me. "I know your friend made it clear earlier you weren't interested in a job right now, but would you be willing to reconsider and become a part of the Trillium Moon crew? We could use a girl like you around here. Like Flora and Bloom, you are full of promise. Promise to be something incredible if you learn to harvest your inner strength. And I'm not flattering you either; you all have the makings of skillful sorceresses, ones who will do remarkable things one day. With a little coaching in magic from me and my sister, you could learn to embrace your hidden power and reach your full potential."

"Yeah! We could all do it together," said Bloom, brightening up. "It'd be fun." Flora hummed her agreement. "It definitely beats what you were doing before."

I ignored that last part. I considered the sisters' offer. Let's face it: I needed some major help in magic. Not only so I'd pass my classes, but so I would be more experienced in it when it was time to help the Winx save the dimension. I needed to improve for whatever lay in the road ahead and _fast._ And this was probably the only chance I'd get to do just that. Besides, this place WAS pretty wicked.

I grinned. "When do I start?"


	20. The OTHER Party

**A/n: HAPPY NEW YEARS 2018! I was lazy as hell in 2017 and barely updated this story (I legit only added 3 chapters, I believe), but this year is going to be different. Starting today, January 1, 2018, I am going to put my whole heart into my writing, into ALL my stories starting with _O Wondrous Wielder of the Winds._** **Part 2 officially starts now. Enjoy and have a kick-ass New Year!**

* * *

"Hot date?"

I couldn't even get out of the door before Ahisa, one of my roommates, hurled the question at me faster than I could blink. I whirled around to come face-to-face with my curious, love-obsessed roommate. Ahisa cocked her head and gave a confident smile, the dark-blue-almost-black framing her ears falling into her face. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. For some reason, the chick felt inclined to ask the question whenever anyone in our apartment was on her way out in anything above a tee and a pair of jeans, like it was her duty to know everything that was going on in our love life, even if it was nonexistent. It was a Love Fairy thing.

I shook my head. "You know I don't date." For crying out loud, I'd been telling her the same thing ever since the start of the school year.

"Oh yeah? Then why are you dressed up?" challenged Ahisa, keeping her grin.

I stared down at myself. I was in nothing but a pale-blue, round-neck denim dress that was the very definition of casual. "I'm not dressed up," I protested. Though, to be fair, I was kind of dressed up for me, one who wore cut-off shorts to five days out of the week.

"So who's the lucky guy?" inquired Ahisa curiously. "Does he happen to be tall with flowing black locks?"

I froze. "Wait, is that how my..."

Ahisa laughed. "Nah, that isn't how your true love looks. I'm just messing with you." See, Ahisa here was a matchmaker. Whenever she made eye contact with someone she instantly saw visions of their destined true love. That being said, she already knew who all of us were destined to be with, if anyone at all. However, she refused to reveal our matches to us because she felt like that was "cheating" the system. She wouldn't even so much as drop a hint.

But to answer her question, the reason I was "dressed up" was because tonight was the night of the party. _The_ party. I was supposed to meet up with the girls in a few minutes so we could head out. However, I was interrupted again before I could leave Whytewich.

"Acadia? Can I speak to you for a second?"

I turned to find Alice lingering in the doorway of her room, her grave blue-grey eyes boring into me. This was random, but Alice was the favorite of all of my roommates. There was just something about her that seemed so elegant, so sophisticated. In a way, she reminded me of Sailor Neptune's civilian identity, Michiru Kaioh. Considering Winx Club was inspired by _Sailor Moon_ , I figured that was what the creators intended. The two were almost one in the same, except Alice's blue hair took on a more grayish hue and she was a fairy of ice instead of water.

A dart of panic shuddered down my spine at Alice's serious face. Oh no. "Is it about tonight? I'm not gonna die, am I?" I asked, panicked.

Alice managed a small smile and shook her head, much to my relief. "No. No one is going to die. Butsomething terrible _is_ going to happen, and to one of your friends."

My heart dropped to my stomach. I pretty much suspected some shit was going to go down tonight, but the reality seemed so much realer and scarier when Alice confirmed it. See, in addition to being a fairy with ice powers, Alice was also a precog, meaning she could see the future. She couldn't see-see it, but every now and then she'd have visions that gave her glimpses of what was to come. So far, every since I've been rooming with her, none of her visions had been super serious. Usually, her power of foresight gave her revelations about trivial stuff, like who'd get the highest grade in Potionology (always Flora) or who was going to get their period in gym class (unfortunately, always Flora). This was her first time coming to one of us with a forewarning of something ghastly in the road to come and considering the disastrous shadow that was destined to soon fall upon Alfea and the rest of the Magic Dimension, this certainly wouldn't be the last.

"Which one?" I inquired, though I already had a clue of who the "lucky" victim was. Musa. It had to be her. It only made sense. She was obviously the next target of Candi's unrelenting cruelty.

Alice gave a remorseful shrug. "I don't know. The vision wasn't very clear, and I apologize for this. Perhaps if I hadn't refrained from using my powers, my premonitions wouldn't be so hazy."

I bit my tongue and glanced at her hopefully. "It's okay. Did you manage to see _what,_ exactly, is going to happen to one of my friends?"

Alice winced, pained. "I didn't. I'm so sorry. I started blocking my visions, so they don't come as fast or comprehensible as they used to." It was a known fact Alice saw her precognition powers as a somewhat nuisance, and could you blame her? Having the ability to see the future must've been daunting and not to mention _extremely_ draining. According to Alice, when she was younger, her premonitions used to come to her fast and furious. They'd regularly leave her with a headache and depending on how formidable they were, they'd even frighten her into unconsciousness, so it was no wonder she'd try to obstruct them.

I tried not to look disappointed. "Oh. That's alright. I already kinda figured out something was wrong. I'll just keep an eye out on my friends."

Yes. I'd make it my mission to look out for them. After all, that was the whole point in me going.

* * *

The party was huge.

I knew it the second we rounded the corner onto the Van Rensselaers' street. _Floating_ cars were lined down the entire block and we could hear the music blaring from here. And by "we", I meant me, Bloom, Flora, and Stella. Tecna had made a smart decision and decided she wouldn't do, and Stella (who never got her invite) jumped at the chance to take her place. While the rest of us were dressed in simple dresses, Stella was dressed for some kind of fashion show in a small tube dress, five-inch heels, a big-ass handbag, and way too much jewelry. And with the several layers of makeup she donned, she was basically suffocating her face. She'd been perplexed when she saw what we were going in, but we all ignored her ass.

We arrived in front of the Van Rensselaers' impressive-ass mansion. The whole modern façade was lit up and whole thing seemed to shudder from the party going down inside.

There was a perplexed-looking butler stationed at the grand entrance checking invitations. I guess they weren't lying when they said the party was exclusive.

"They're not paying you enough for this, are they?" asked Musa sympathetically, handing him her invitation.

The butler accepted and inspected it for half a millisecond before handing it back. "You have no idea," he said with a tired sigh. We proceeded past him and into the mansion as a pink-skinned girl behind us was being denied access.

We stepped into the grand marble foyer, immediately greeted by the fused/putrid smells of smoke, pot, and liquor and an assemblage of stereotypes. This place had all the necessary components of a typical all-teen bash; deafening eletrco boosted with too much bass, attention-starved girls in flirtatious tops and bras that practically pushed their boobs up to their chins promenading around in five-inch heels in hopes of catching a lustful eye or two, jocks irresponsibly splashing and spilling their beer as they openly hit on the hotties, drunkies dancing out of tune with the music like idiots because they were just too wasted to give a fuck. The only thing that didn't make this party a complete cliché was the setting. I'd been to many rich kid parties in my day, but none thrown in a place as luxurious as this. The floors were a lustrous black-and-white checkered marble, two glass chandeliers dangled from the high ceilings, double curving staircases were centered by a sparkling white-and-gold trimmed fountain, and looming beams rose from the floor to the ceiling in an extravagant fashion. Every inch of the entrance hall was truly gorgeous. I would've even marveled at its sheer exquisiteness if every inch of it weren't contaminated with disgusting microscopic, bacterial teen particles.

"Bloom! Girls!"

Our heads turned to see Brandon (Sky) wounding around a crowd of people, waving.

Bloom's face brightened. "Brandon! What are you doing here?" I silently made note of Stella, who was slipping off to join a group of girls that were flagging her down from the other side of the room. I needed to keep track of all my friends' whereabouts just in case.

"I'm here with Sky. Being a prince, he got an invitation and basically forced me to come with," explained Brandon (Sky) with a nonchalant shrug. "And like I expected, this party isn't my type. I was actually about to leave.."

"Well, know you don't have to," butted in Flora with a lovely smile. She nudged Bloom forward. "Why don't you and Bloom go dance? You're both more than comfortable with each other and it'd be a waste to come all the way out here just to stand around, right?"

Bloom's and Brandon's (Sky's) cheeks flushed pink and they both sprung into fidgety, embarrassed stutters. Shit, this was almost painful to watch. Flora sensed the shy (and somewhat romantic) tension between them and smiled encouragingly. "Oh, c'mon. Why so timid? It's okay for friends to dance with each other."

Brandon (Sky) blushed hard and openly. "Uh, if Bloom wants to..."

Bloom nodded shyly. "Yeah. That is, if you want to..."

OH GOOD UNICORN MEAT. JUST GO DANCE ALREADY.

It was almost a relief to watch them finally drift over into the room with the other dancers. I made a mental note of where they were. Again, you could never be too safe.

"Your turn, Musa," announced Flora in a singsong, latching onto the girl.

"Huh?" Musa startled awake, from whatever daze she'd been in. Up until now, she'd been on a completely different planet. Nearly the whole time her eyes had been glazed over with this really distant look and they kept darting around the space in search of something, that person. _Riven._ "My turn for what?"

Flora took hold of her arm. "C'mon. Let's go find you a dance partner." So Flora had taken it upon herself to play matchmaker tonight. Not surprising. I had better watch out before she decided to pair _me_ up with some bonehead.

Musa recoiled. "But..."

"Candi wants to see you moping around miserably, so it should be your mission to have fun tonight," said Flora matter-of-factly, giving Musa's hand a squeeze. "That'll teach her to mess with you."

I expected Musa to protest but much to my surprise, she easily relented. "Yeah. You're right," she agreed, her shoulders relaxing. "I shouldn't let irrelevant bitches like her get under my skin."

Suddenly, I understood. Complying with Flora's request would give her something to do, make her take her mind off Riven, the center of all her worries. I watched as the two girls sauntered into the room after Bloom and Brandon (Sky), either ignorant to or ignoring all the guys checking out Flora's boobs in the process. They were okay for now.

Since they weren't in any apparent danger (at the moment), I took this as an opportunity to nab a beer. I strolled into the grand marble double-island kitchen and my jaw nearly fell off at what I'd just intruded on.

Standing nearby the double ovens was none other than Stormy, her back turned obliviously to me as hardcore-flirted with an unnaturally handsome young man. He was tall with broad shoulders, an athlete's body, and finely chiseled features they'd land him a job as a model in a half a heartbeat. He was obviously only half-listening to Stormy, seeming more interested in whatever he was drinking from his red cup than the witch.

I lingered at the archway, curious as to how this was gonna play out. I'd never known Stormy to bother with boys; I thought all her and her sisters thought about was power and their reflection in the mirror. Basically, I had no idea she could be genuinely interested in anyone but herself.

I watched in slight awe as Stormy fiddled with her lighting-bolt bang, trying her absolute hardest to look sexy. I guess her outfit alone wasn't doing it, even though she _did_ look pretty fierce. She was decked out in all black tonight; black tube top, black fashionably ripped leggings, strappy black sandals, big black hoop earrings. Even the jewels decorating her storm cloud were a glittery night-sky color. Her dark cherry-colored lips and coal-shadowed eyes pulled her look together.

From my vantage point I could hear what she was saying, which was just a load of bullshit. "I'm one of the top students at Cloud Tower," she was untruthfully boasting, "I'm the top of my class." Gah, the lies people tell.

Apparently, Handsome wasn't buying it either because he just replied with a noncommittal, "Oh really?" Stormy proceeded to gush about her "outstanding academic achievements", completely blind to her target's conspicuous boredom.

This was a _total_ cringefest.

I must've said that alone because Handsome's eyes flitted to my face and Stormy whirled around on her heels, finally acknowledging my existence. _"You,"_ she spat, zeroing in on me in disgust. "What are _you_ doing here?"

I countered her question with a question. "Why does _anyone_ come to a party?" I asked sarcastically, heading straight for the assortment of bear cluttering the countertop. Actually, having fun was the last thing on my agenda, but Stormy didn't need to know my business. For all she knew, I was just about guest who leaped at the chance to party in a celebrity mansion.

"Friends?" guessed Handsome, glancing between me and Stormy.

 _"Hell no,"_ was our simultaneous reply.

"I don't even know what the tree licker's doing here," said Stormy with an eye roll.

 _Tree licker? The fuck_ did that come from...?

"Ah, so you're a fairy then?" inquired Handsome.

"Is that what they're calling us now?" I furrowed my brows, appalled.

"'Fraid so. It's better than what they're calling us, though. 'Stick magicians' is even more belittling," chuckled Handsome. My eyes immediately wandered down to the ebony wand fastened to his belt. A mage. Mages were magicians who required a wand or staff to utilize magic, unlike wizards, witches, and fairies, who only needed their hands.

"No, I'm sure tree lickers is worse," I insisted. Handsome said something else but I blocked him out, mostly because Candi had just entered the room. She paused in the doorway, her sharp gaze shifting between me and Handsome. She gave me a fierce look and a menacing smile before turning and gliding right back into the foyer.

My danger senses started tinkling. Bitch was up to something.

Forgetting all about Stormy and Handsome, I zipped after her. I clicked into the foyer to find she'd vanished. What the...? Where'd she get off to so fast? She couldn't have gone upstairs or I would've seen her ascending the stairs. That was when I noticed a pair of wide-open doors off to the other side of the foyer. I automatically advanced in their direction.

I heard their voices before I saw them. The French doors lead into a living room and as soon as I entered, I saw what— _who_ Candi had ran off to. She was standing over the couch, whispering into the ear of the lone black-gowned girl seated on it. She looked around my age, with a mane of curly black hair and vibrant green eyes that widened at whatever Candi was saying to her. She fierce gaze sharpened on me and a smug smile painted her face.

"Did you know I've mastered all of the ice spells?" she announced to the adoring crowd surrounding her. She flashed a chilly grin at me. _"Watch."_

Before I could react, she took out a wand like Jude's. Another mage. She aimed the tool at my feet and before I could leap out of the way, she muttered a spell and a thin blue line of light emerged from the tip and collided with my feet. Cold seared through my legs, making me draw in a sharp-as-knives breath.

My legs wouldn't move.

My gaze shot down to my feet, which were now embedded in thick ice, freezing me to the floor. "You fucking jerk! What was that for?" I barked at her.

Curly Hair smiled with smug satisfaction. "See. I've mastered the ice spells. I can demonstrate a few more if you're not convinced." My eyes widened and Curly Hair gave me a cruel grin. "That's what I figured." She rose to her feet. "Let's go see what my brothers are doing." And with that, she and her crowd made a dramatic exit into the rest of the mansion. Candi smirked at me before following.

So here I was in a room all by myself, trapped in ice. With no way of freeing myself.

Oh, this was just great...

* * *

The bitch's name was Blair. Blair Van Rensselaer. Little sister to Blake and Byron Rensselaer, the hosts of the party, and an absolute _witch._ Well, technically, she was a mage, but had the heart of a true-blue witch.

Some compassionate bystander was nice (and strong) enough to undo Blair's spell and free me from her ice. In the process of reversing her magic, he gave me a brief rundown of everything I needed to know about Blair and the rest of the Van Rensselaers.

In short, they were a powerful clan of mages (hehe, _stick magicians_ ) whose ancestry ranged all the way back to the beginning of the Magic Dimension. Their clan was one of the Four Great Mage clans that were said to be the progenitors of wand magic and all of magekind as well as the most powerful mages in all of the dimension. This put the Van Rensselaers on a _very_ high pedestal, easily making them one of the most influential and elite families in the magical realm. And according to my rescuer, all the Van Rensselaers were of a similar nature: entitled snobs with a prodigious amount of power ( _not_ a good combination in my opinion). He also said Blair and her brothers went to Meknerth University, the all-time best-ranked college for mages on planet Callisto. There, they were the top of their class and designated Level Five mages, which was basically the highest ranking among mages. They were currently on break and the whole reason they threw a party was because they got bored (word had it they even bought the mansion specifically _for_ the party).

Another thing: the dude Stormy was flirting with was Jude Embermore and, spoiler alert, Blair was hot for him. He too was a student at Meknerth University and one of the many Level Five Mages of the Embermore clan, the second of the Four Great Mage Clans (I _knew_ there was a reason Stormy had thrown herself at him), technically making them "equals." Word had it the two dated a while back but Jude called it off (gee, I wonder _why)._ And though Jude currently had no feelings for her whatsoever, Blair was still territorial of him and head-over-heels in love. My rescuer told me though they both possessed many magics, Jude leaned more toward fire magic and was renowned for it, meanwhile Blair had an affinity for ice (as proven). If you asked me, that was sign enough they didn't belong together, but whatever...

Blair's possessiveness for Jude was the whole reason the bitch even iced my ass in the first place. Apparently, Candi LIED to Blair and said I was flirting with Jude and Blair called herself getting "revenge" by using magic against me. It bothered the shit out of me how Stormy managed to get off scot-free and she had ACTUALLY flirted with Jude. Life was so unfair...

Now, free from the ice, I surveyed the whole downstairs for my friends. I'd been frozen to the floor for a good fifteen pride-wounding minutes, so I'd basically lost track of all of my friends, which was NOT a good thing, especially with Candi on the loose. I noticed that the crowds had thinned out, which didn't make sense considering the still-early hour. It was Saturday night. Parties didn't start clearing out until at least midnight and it was only a quarter past nine.

I regarded a few partygoers who were occasionally slipping in and out of the French doors in the kitchen and realized the action had relocated to the backyard. As the doors blew open and a bunch of laughing drunk goths stumbled in, I slipped past them and out into the crisp night air, which was laced laughter and music. Rope lights snaked between the trees, illuminating the expansive lawn. Nearly every square inch was occupied by some kind of dancing individual. Masses of people bordered the pool and fountain, all moving and shaking their bottles to the remix blasting from the leather DJ booth set up on the portable lantern-lit stage that overlooked the crowd on an elevation on the edge of the yard. And... _wait!_

OMG.

Working the turntables was none other than _Musa._ A pair of headphones fitted snug on her head as she professionally worked the records with gusto, producing the desired, energetic beats. Musa herself was openly and passionately engrossed in her work, bobbing her head, swaying her hips, and rocking her body in time with the catchy rhyme, occasionally shouting with the crowd at certain parts of the song. Her unrelenting beam seemed to amplify the song even more, making everyone go crazy (in a good way).

From the deck, my eyes scanned the hordes. I pinpointed Bloom and Brandon (Sky) along the outskirts having a good time. Any tension that had once existed between them had apparently diffused because the two were dancing with each other, laughing as they somewhat moved in sync with each other. Though they looked a bit silly, they were obviously having a good time and that was all that mattered.

Next, I located a blur of hot pink. Flora. She was sitting with some school friends on the patio furniture nearby the pool, engaged in what was evidently an amusing conversation. A few feet away, Sky (Brandon), was reveling in all the female attention he was getting by the fire pit. Females of all species and colors were encircling him, latched on to his arms and giggling at whatever dumb shit he was passing through his lips. Judging by the lopsided, carefree grin on his face he was drunk. Stella and her friends were leisurely lounging under an umbrella just a few feet away, sipping on martinis. Though she was feigning ignorance of Sky's (Brandon's) presence, I caught her sneaking a few (jealous) glances in his direction. He didn't even turn in her direction.

Okay, all my friends were accounted for. I exhaled in relief. All was well for the time being.

Relaxed by the fact my friends were safe, I allowed the music to draw me toward the party in the yard. I happened to brush by Candi, who was too busy complaining to one of her friends to register my freedom from Blair's ice. "Does Blair even know she didn't hire her?" the bitch was snarling to an idiot-looking brunette who seemed more interested in her cocktail.

The brunette gulped down the rest of her drink. "Who cares? She's fucking _awesome."_

A wave of triumphant satisfaction waved through me. Served the bitch right. She invited Musa in hopes of watching the girl humiliate herself but instead she was forced to witness her become the life of the party. Ah, how the tables turned. (Get it? Because Musa was literally turning tables? Ha ha ha... _Pretend I never made that joke)._

I spied Blair, who was lapping in the attention of her own clique. She was flanked by two young men who shared the same features as her, all of their faces reflecting the same smugness. Blake and Byron. I steered clear of them.

I aimlessly wove around the crowds, sipping from a beer I'd swiped off a refreshment cart. My eyes caught a bluish-white blur; Icy. However, I only saw her momentarily before she was engulfed in the circulating crowd. I'd already seen and ignored Stormy, who was across the yard openly glaring at Blair, who was now threading a possessive arm through Jude's. Ha, good luck with that one, Stormy.

Musa DJ'ed a bit longer before another disc jockey took the stage. He wasn't as good as Musa, but his beats were decent enough to keep the crowds hyper. Musa sprung over to me, practically glowing. All the traces of worry that had previously creased her face had faded into nonexistence. Her anxiety had been replaced with sheer

"Musa! You were awesome!" I shouted at her over the music.

"Thanks!" She gave me a quick hug that sent a wave of energy rippling through me. Whoa. Thanks to all the sound energy pulsing in the air, Musa's magic had flourished tremendously to the point it was radiating off her. The combined vibrations from everyone's voices and the continuous music had given her a major power boost, temporarily making her one of the strongest fairies here. Sounds could do that to a music fairy.

"I had so much fun," she said. Though she was talking to me, her eyes were focused on something behind me. I turned to spot the Lone Wolf and my mood immediately darkened. What was that bastard doing here? The Trix. He had to be here with the Trix (how did THEY get invited?). If so, they had abandoned him because he was alone. He was under the gazebo leaning against one of the columns, looking like a true loner. I couldn't make out his face from here, but I could image it twisted in the usual scowl.

"I'm going to ask him to dance," said Musa with a faint smile.

?!

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" I asked cautiously. Musa was in a rather good mood and I'd hate for some dumbass like Riven to spoil it.

Musa nodded assertively. DJing had obviously given her a boost of confidence. I wanted to protest, but I didn't. What could I do? Musa's mind was set. With her back straight and her face glowing self-confidence, she advanced toward Riven. I trailed a few feet behind, a sour feeling swirling in the pit of my stomach.

Alice's warning echoed through my head once more.

 _Something terrible_ is _going to happen, and to one of your friends._

My eyes veered in Bloom's and Brandon's (Sky's) direction. They were still dancing. They were still okay. I searched for Stella next. She had abandoned her friends and was slowly slinking over to Blair's group, like she was trying to become a part of it undetected like some kind of desperate groupie. Oh, right. Blair and her brothers were the ones who blacklisted her. So why would Stella try to warm up to them?

"Hi, Riven. Would you like to dance?" asked Musa, pulling my attention back to the situation at hand. Her voice didn't waver and she didn't sound one bit shy. I couldn't help but fit a tad bit proud of her.

Riven glared at her momentarily before turning his face away. That should've been answer enough, but Musa wouldn't be discouraged. "Oh, c'mon. Don't be like that. Why come to a party if you won't have fun?" she said, teasingly.

Darcy's voice suddenly floated out of nowhere. _"What's going on here?"_

RECORD SCRATCH.

Before Musa and I could react, Darcy was abruptly appearing at Riven's side and looping an arm through his territorially. What the…? The hell did she come from? Much to my amazement, Musa looked Darcy straight in the eye. "What does it look like? I'm asking Riven for a dance."

Darcy too seemed a little surprised by Musa's audacity, but that shock was immediately replaced with sick amusement. "Well, would you look at that? The fairy has balls after all. But just because you have a bark doesn't mean you have a bite."

I was ready to intervene at this point, but Musa didn't need my help. "Whatever, Darcy," she said thinly, "I was talking to Riven, so sod off."

"You really are stupid, aren't you? Riven doesn't want anything to do with you," sniped Darcy.

"Um, are you Riven? No, so don't tell me what he wants."

Darcy flashed a wintery smile. "Oh, would you prefer it if _he_ told you instead?"

SHIT.

Okay, THIS was when I stepped in. "C'mon, Musa. Let's get out of here," I spat, stepping forward. I reached for her am, but Musa swatted me away.

"No!" She stared at me sharply before turning to Riven. "Riven. If you have something to say to me then say it." Oh no. I could already hear the insecurity slowly creeping into her voice.

"Yes, Riven," crowned Darcy, stroking his arm. "Why don't you tell our favorite little music fairy what you _really_ think of her?"

Riven hesitated. For a split second, I saw doubt flash across his face. Was he thinking for himself for once? Was he somehow fighting Darcy's magic?

"Go on, Riven," urged Darcy, but it was more like ordered. There was a faint, cold edge in her voice. Like she was reminding Riven who was really in charge here.

Whatever emotion that had just flickered across Riven's face vanished and replaced with a menacing scowl. "You wanna know what I really think about you, Musa?" he growled lowly. Nothing good was going to come out of his mouth and I think Musa knew it because her shoulders tensed.

"I think you're a fucking stalker," spat Riven, "you're always watching me, always following me. You're always weaseling in my business, just like Brandon."

Musa flinched.

Riven kept going, much to Darcy's obvious delight. "You're _annoying._ I try to be nice to you but that's near impossible since you're always on my fucking case."

"Shut up, Riven!" I barked. "Musa, let's get out of here."

Musa wouldn't budge. Her shoulders slumped. She was breaking down. Riven was slowly but steadily cracking her wall of confidence. And now he was about to deliver the final blow and make it collapse completely.

"You wanna know what I _really_ feel about you, Musa?" fumed Riven. Here it comes— "I fucking _hate_ you."

Musa took a wobbly step back. Darcy laughed lightly and Riven looked indifferent. He stared at Musa with cold, unadulterated disgust, making her recoil. She whirled around to face me and my heart split in two at the silent tears streaming down her cheeks.

It was at that moment I was nearly overwhelmed with anger. FUCK Darcy, FUCK Riven. I HATED I HATED I HATED THEM. I just wanted to storm over and fucking snap a few of their fucking fingers. I wanted to shove them to the ground and stomp on their bodies like fucking trash. I wanted to—

 _No. That's not the way, Acadia_ , something told me deep down inside.

I inhaled deeply, fighting to calm myself. Shaking with fury, I seized Musa's hand and guided her away.

We were leaving this bitch. NOW.

Bloom and Brandon (Sky) intercepted us after we put a good distance between us and Darcy and Riven. Bloom's eyes bugged with concern at the sight of Musa, who was letting the tears fall quietly. "What happened?" she cried out, automatically reaching to pull Musa into a hug.

"Riven," I replied thinly. Though I was brimming with anger, my voice was oddly void of emotion.

Brandon (Sky) clenched a fist and looked back, eyes immediately landing on Darcy and Riven under the gazebo. "That's it. I've had enough of him."

"Wait, Brandon. No. We don't need to make a scene," said Bloom firmly as Musa buried her face in her shoulder, her back rising and falling as she wept silently. "Let's just go."

Brandon (Sky) pressed her lips together, but didn't protest. "I'll go get Sky."

"And we'll get Flora and Stella," said Bloom. As Brandon (Sky) disappeared into the masses, Bloom looked around. "Wherever they are…" My gaze skimmed over the guests to locate our friends.

OH FUCK.

Gone! They were gone!

Flora was no longer on the patio furniture, and Stella was nowhere to be found either. My eyes darted over to Blair, her brothers, and their clique, but Stella wasn't with them.

SHIT, WAIT A MINUTE.

I did a double-take. _Candi was gone too._ Last time I saw she'd been with the Van Rensselaers, but she was missing from their group.

 _Something terrible_ is _going to happen, and to one of your friends._

OH MY G—

I made a break for the mansion. Bloom called out to me in confusion, but I didn't look back. I burst through the doors and into the kitchen, pushing people out of my way as I scrambled for the foyer. I checked every room on the bottom floor without any luck.

I was about to charge upstairs but then I became of one door I'd missed.

The bathroom.

I marched over and wiggled the doorknob, but it held tight. I took a deliberate step back. There were only ever two reasons behind a locked bathroom door. Either someone was hooking up or drowning in their own vomit on the other side. I raised a hand to knock, but froze when I heard muffled sounds coming from the other side. Sounds that didn't sound like violet retching or sloppy smooching. I focused on the noises, not caring if I being a total creepazoid right now.

I concentrated on the noises, making them out to be… _soft sobbing?_ It legit sounded like someone was crying in there.

Oh fuck.

"Stella?" I called softly. "Are you in there?" I mean, it could always be Flora, but Stella was a more likely candidate.

No reply. The crying got a little louder, though.

"Stella?" I tried again.

No reply.

Fuck this. I was going in. I aimed my pointer finger at the doorknob. I muttered the words to a unlocking charm and my whispery blue magic illuminated the knob before it made a soft _click,_ the unmistakable sound of the lock being turned.

I pushed the door open completely, smelling Stella' before I saw her. The air in the bathroom (which was fancy as hell by the way) was thick was a lavender-y mist, Stella's signature scent. My eyes immediately landed on Stella, who was sitting on the floor against the wall, her arms wrapped her knees and burying her face. Her back was slumped in defeat and rising and falling with near silent sobs.

Crap. She was a mess.

I reclosed the door and locked it. "What happened?" I demanded, keeping my distance. Mind you, the two of us were still on bad terms. And though I was concerned, I didn't want to play the role of the overly sympathetic friend and make her think I was surrendering.

In between sobs, Stella gave a strangled-sounding choke. "Like you care."

"Why else would I ask? Of course I care, you dumbass," I said, my voice softer than I anticipated. I whipped out my phone and forwarded Bloom a quick text: _find Flora._ I already knew I was going to be in here a while.

Stella lifted her face, surprised. Her mascara was running, making her look more than a mess. She was a _hot_ mess. "But I've been a total bitch to you this whole week," she said, sniffling.

"Obviously. But you're having a breakdown in a stranger's bathroom, Stella. There's _clearly_ something wrong and I'd have to be pretty cruel to leave you like this. Why _are_ you in here? What happened?"

Apparently, something _horrible_ happened because Stella broke into hysterical wailing at my asking. "You guys were right," she sobbed, "I _was_ blacklisted. Those people _hate_ me!"

"People?" I repeated, though I already knew exactly who she was talking about. It had to be the Van Rensselaers. "Why?"

Stella's head shot up, her eyes zeroing on me with eyes clouded with all kinds of emotions. "Why else? Because I'm a fucking screw-up," she snapped at me, like the answer was obvious.

She just realized? "By whose standards?"

" _Everyone's."_ Stella tried to sniffle back her tears but ended up bursting into another strangled-sounding sob anyway. "Everyone thinks I'm a fucking _disgrace_!"

Whoa. That made the second time Stella used the F word. That was a first. Now that I thought about it, I'd really only heard Musa curse. Stella must've _really_ been pissed. "Why?" I asked cautiously.

"Why do you think?" demanded Stella, "I'm a _bitch_!"

Okay, though she was right, she still wasn't making a lot of sense here. "So? The Van Rensselaers and their whole crew are eighty-five percent worse. You look mild as shit compared to them."

"Yeah, but there's a difference. Their clique isn't bitchy to _them_."

Oh shit. "Stella, what did you say about them?" I inquired.

" _To_ them," corrected Stella with a sniffle and a deep breath, as if preparing for a long monologue. "I have a history with the Van Rensselaers, you know. Our families have been acquainted for a while now. Although our parents our friends, me and the Van Rensselaer kids…we don't get along. No, we _hate_ each other, to be exact. They constantly patronize and belittle me over everything. My parents' divorce, my getting held back during my first freshmen year. They did whatever they could to make me feel like garbage." An image of Blair's smug face flashed in my mind. Yep, I'll believe it.

"And then one day I had enough," continued Stella, bitterly. "I couldn't take their crap anymore. Before school started, I said a few things I should've and now…" Stella sniffed. "They turned everyone against me. They're making me look like some of tier two princess! And now because I couldn't keep my mouth shut, everyone's opinion of me and the Royal Family of Solaria is tainted."

I remembered how Stella had been chilling with a group of girls before she went over to join/be degraded by the Van Rensselaers. "They didn't turn EVERYONE against you. I saw you with some girls earlier."

Stella laughed coldly. "Yeah, and that was _so_ fun. It's not like _they_ didn't try to humiliate me even more," she said sarcastically. Well, shit.

My insides warmed against my will. "You do know that doesn't make you a bitch, right?" I pointed out. "Sure, you said some shit to them, but those fuckers deserved it. I've had a run in with Blair and she's fucking cancerous."

"Her brothers are even worse," said Stella, her voice barely audible. Of course they are. Where else would Blair have gotten her bitchiness?

"But the thing is, who cares about what those dumbasses say," I said, speaking with a confident edge in an attempt to encourage the blond. "You wanna know why they _really_ pick on you? Because you're fabulous. Because you're proud. Because you're royal and they're not. Sure, their family might have rank, power, and money, but your family has even more. They try to make themselves look superior to you because deep down in the inside, they're actually quite inferior. They might be destined to do great things, but you're destined to do things even bigger. Trust me, I know." For crying out loud, Stella was eventually going to become Solaria's Guardian Fairy. She was going to save her whole freaking planet on _multiple_ occasions! Was Fallon or her crummy little clan capable of such impressive feats? Yeah, I think not.

"I mean, yeah, you can be mean at times but everyone has their days. At least you're not a tried and true bully like the rest of them. At least you have good qualities. You're everything they are _plus_ more. They can say whatever the hell they want to you but in the end, _you'll_ always be the better person. _You'll_ always be number one."

There was a moment of silence as Stella let my words sink in.

"I don't get it. Why are you being so…nice?" Stella was reluctant to ask after a moment. "I was a total creep to you. I don't deserve your concern." She stared at me with eyes glazed over with tears and confusion.

Her sincerity stabbed my heart and for a second, I thought _I_ was going to cry. But I don't. Instead, I simply state, "We're friends. Friends don't let friends break down in a hysterical fit in a stranger's bathroom. That would be a shitty thing to do."

Stella let out a laugh, making me relax. "I guess you're right. Not even I would do that."

I grin. "I know. Now get yourself cleaned up. We're about to leave. Everyone's had enough of this shitty party."

Before Stella could say anything, there was a knock on the other side of the door. "Um, is anyone in there?" called a somewhat dorky masculine voice. "I really gotta go…"

"Um, just a minute," I called as Stella scrambled to her feet. It took roughly five minutes for Stella to fix her makeup. "I'm sorry, you know. For everything I said," she said quietly as she applied a fresh new coat of mascara. She glanced at me in the mirror.

I nodded. "Apology accepted." And just like that, the tension between us faded into thin air.

When Stella was finally done, she looked every bit as flawlessly as she had when we first arrived. I unlocked the door and the two of us departed from the bathroom. "Just so you know, we weren't doing anything," I said matter-of-factly to the nerd who was standing at the door with his mouth hanging open at the sight of us.

"So where is everyone?" asked Stella as we quickly dissolved into the sea of guests.

As if on cue, my phone chimed with a new text. I expected it to be from Bloom, but it was from _Musa._

 _Musa: COME UPSTAIRS RN_

Followed by:

 _Musa: IT'S AN EMERGENCY_

What the fuck was the problem now? And then I swore my heart stopped. _Flora._ I could feel the color draining from my face. Alice's warning hammered in my mind over and over.

 _Something terrible_ is _going to happen, and to one of your friends_.

Horrific realization dawned over me. What if Musa _wasn't_ the one Alice was talking about? What if it'd been Flora all along?

"What's wrong?" asked Stella, sensing my alarm.

"Something's wrong. We need to get upstairs. NOW."

My mind raced as we dashed for the double staircase. I took the stairs two at a time while Stella struggled to keep up in her towering heels.

 _Something terrible_ is _going to happen, and to one of your friends_.

 _Something terrible_ is _going to happen, and to one of your friends_.

 _Something terrible_ is _going to happen, and to one of your friends_.

Musa sent us another text telling us where upstairs they were. After we ascended to the top floor Stella and I followed her instructions, navigating through the labyrinth of bedrooms until we stumbled upon a lone pair of double doors at the end of a hall.

We burst in to find a huge bedroom. "Lock the door," ordered Bloom upon our arrival. She and Musa were gathered around the four-poster bed, where something lay limp across it. I nearly screamed in horror when I made it out to be a body; a naked, tan body. Light brown hair concealed the face, though I already knew who it belonged to.

Flora.

NO, NO, NO, NO, NO.

"What the fuck happened?" I yelled, rushing over as Stella took care of the door. "What happened to Flora?"

"We don't know. We just came up and we found her like this!" replied Musa, panicked. "She's knocked out cold!"

OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT. This was NOT good. A girl passed out in a stranger's bed, naked? That could mean she was—Someone could've taken advantage of her—

I fought the urge to barf. I couldn't think about that now. For now, we just needed to focus on getting her out of here.

"Where are her clothes?" hissed Bloom. All of our heads snapped in different directions in search of Flora's garments. We all went in separate directions; Stella ran over to the closet, Musa scurried into the bathroom, and I dropped to my knees to check under the bed. I half-expected to find a condom, but I found nothing.

"They're not in here," reported Stella, emerging from the walk-in closet after a moment.

In the en suite, we heard Musa swear in frustration followed by the sound of sloshing water. "Musa?" called Bloom, her voice laced with uncertainty. "What's wrong?" Stella and I were already heading in that direction to find out.

We found Musa doubled over the bathtub, fishing out… _oh shit._ The tub was filled with water and floating in it was none other than Flora's missing garments. "Shit," Stella and I swore simultaneously, hurrying over. _Everything_ Flora had worn to the party was in the water, even her jewelry. While Stella grabbed her earrings and bracelets, Musa went for the bra and shoes while I extracted the dress. Since the fabric had absorbed so much liquid the dress felt a good two pounds heavier.

"What are we gonna do? We can't put these wet clothes on Flora," panicked Musa unsteadily. She was scared shitless. You could hear it in her voice. She was so unnerved she wasn't even thinking straight or she would've remember—

"Fairy of the Sun," reminded Stella, "I got this." She zapped the dress I held with a bolt of yellow energy and just like magic, it returned to its lighter, dry state in a matter of seconds. While she casted the spell on everything else, I carried the dress back into the bedroom.

"Help me get it on," directed Bloom. I obeyed, holding a limp Flora upright, adjusting her limbs accordingly so they'd ease back into the dress as Bloom yanked it past her shoulders and down her body. I could tell Bloom was doing her best to be gentle but the sheer desire to shield our friend's nakedness was making her a bit forceful. Flora's head lolled to the side and I bit back a frightened cry.

"Someone call the boys," I instructed instead as Musa and Stella came out of the bathroom with the rest of Flora's stuff. We worked quickly; while Bloom and I finished dressing Flora, Stella stuffed the rest of Flora's things into her large bag, and Musa whipped out her phone. Musa shot Brandon (Sky) a quick text and roughly two short minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Musa unlocked the door with her magic and Brandon (Sky) burst in, ready to handle some shit. A drunk-ass Sky (Brandon) staggered in seconds later.

Their eyes bugged when they caught a glimpse of Flora. "What happened?" they both demanded. "Who did this?" Brandon (Sky) nearly shouted.

"We don't know. We just came up and found her passed out naked," explained Musa shakily, trembling. "We have to get her out of here." Her eyes were glazed over with tears and, poor girl, she couldn't stop shaking. She was overwhelmed with fear. Hell, we ALL were.

She didn't have to say anymore. Brandon (Sky) was already on it. He hurried over and wrapped one arm around Flora's back and the other around the bend in her knees before lifting her out of Bloom's embrace.

"C'mon." Stella waved us all toward the door. "We need to take her to hospital. NOW."


	21. Trapped

She was fine. Flora was fine.

We'd done as Stella suggested and rushed her to the hospital ASAP. After a long and complicated seven-hour ordeal, one of the doctors finally came to us in the waiting room and dismissed our fears, confirming Flora had NOT been raped. _However,_ after running a few extra tests they discovered abnormal particles in Flora's bloodstream, scaring the shit out of us all over again. The first thing that came to our minds was drugs, as it was the next logical explanation behind Flora's "unconsciousness." Turned out she actually hadn't been unconscious at all. Nope. The doctors didn't find any _illegal_ substance in her blood; instead, they found the remnants of a _sleeping potion._ Yep, a _sleeping potion_. We'd all been so panicked when we discovered her on that bed we hadn't even noticed she was breathing steadily, that she'd been peacefully asleep the whole time.

But that did not put our minds at ease. Sure, it was a good thing she hadn't been drugged or anything, but a _sleeping potion?_ How did that happen? _Why_ did that happen? It was the doctor's guess someone had laced one of Flora's drinks with one and she ingested it unsuspectingly. The mastermind then hauled her upstairs and stripped her of her clothes, probably _to_ rape her. The doctor said it was a good thing we found Flora when we did. Otherwise, our initial fear would've become a harsh reality.

Flora had looked so ghostly, so spooked when she finally emerged from the doctors' room. Though we all had so many questions, we were all equally tired and ready to bail out of the depressing hospital, so Stella called Magix's equivalence to Uber so we'd have a way back to school (she _so_ hadn't been in the mood for public transportations at the moment). She offered to pay for Sky's and Brandon's ride back to Red Fountain, but they both declined the offer and simply disappeared into the awakening city.

We got back to Alfea at the crack of dawn. With it being so early in the morning, the campus was practically abandoned. We technically didn't have to sneak inside since curfew was over, but if someone were to see us reentering school grounds this early it'd be safe for them to logically assume we'd been out all night. I half-expected Griselda to show up the second we stepped foot in the building, but no one was around. I found this somewhat suspicious. I mean, you'd THINK they'd have guards or some shit, but Stella told me not to worry about it. We got off scot-free and that was all that mattered, she insisted. Naturally, I wanted to see Flora to the Winx's apartment, but the other girls had promised they'd take care of her and that I needed to get back to Whytewich before anyone saw me. Besides, Tecna was waiting for them at their apartment and she was bound to unleash hell when they got back. We'd been on the phone with Tecna nearly all night while we were at the hospital, so she knew what had went down and was not pleased in the slightest. To be honest, I didn't feel like hearing the inevitable mouthful of a lecture she destined to give about how she was right about the party and how we should start listening to her more often, so I obeyed and went back to my dorm room.

Thankfully, my roommates were asleep when I got back—well, everyone except Alice. She'd been perched on the couch, where she had patiently and promptly been awaiting my return, like she'd been expecting me to arrive at the time I had. Considering she could see the future and all, she probably had. She made me sit down and recount the night's occurrences and being too tired to protest, I did. Alice listened gravely and when I was finished she once again took the blame for "letting this happen" and promised she'd start back channeling her energy toward her visions so she'd be able to use her gift of foresight to prevent things like this from happening in the future. Before I went off to bed, she also told me she left some textbooks that covered all the material I would need to memorize for my midterms on my desk. With them, she said, I'd be able to ace the midterms and pull my grades up. I was bewildered and nearly asked how she knew I needed help in my coursework when I remembered, _duh. She's a precog. She probably saw my failingness in a minor vision. Cry._

I thanked her and took my ass to bed. I'd slept through practically all of Sunday; it was nearly evening when I finally got up. It wasn't until then I noticed how terrible I smelled. I had gone straight to bed without showering or even changing my clothes, so all the appalling smells of the party still clung to my skin and the fabric of my clothes.

Now, I was just emerging from the shower, the relief of cleanliness making my damp skin tingle. I was on my way to hit the books (thanks Alice!) when my phone dinged with a next text.

 _Musa: Are u awake?_

I sent her a smiley face emoji.

 _Musa: Get up over here ASAP. We have a situation._

Ah, monkey grapes. The fuck was the problem now? The party was over and Flora was not-raped and okay, so everything should've been good now. We should've been in the clear. My mind raced as I changed course and headed in the direction of Dragontail. What trouble could possibly be transpiring _now_? Could one of the girls have gotten into some shit off-campus? No. Considering how late we got back from the party I doubted Stella, Musa, Flora, and Bloom even had a thought about stepping a foot outside the dormitory and Tecna was not the type to cause a scene in public.

The door to Dragontail was already ajar by the time I got upstairs. I found the Winx in Flora's and Bloom's room, where the air was uncomfortably thick with tension. The first person my eyes landed on was Flora, who was seated in between Bloom and Stella on her bed. Her body was slouched in defeat and her usually cheerful eyes were clouded with self-pity. Her smooth face was glistening with traces of salt where her assumed-to-be tears had dried up. Bloom had a supportive armed wrapped around her and was holding her body to hers while Stella chewed on her bottom lip and nervously fiddled with her hair. Musa was sitting on the floor against the wall with her hands stuffed in her oversized sweatshirt, the hood pulled far over her face and casting shadows along her forehead. Tecna sat at Flora's desk with her handheld, looking stiff and stoic.

"What happened?" I demanded automatically, slamming the door closed. Flora burst into tears. Hearing her cry made my heart split straight down the middle. Wait.

Stella shot me a half-angry half-troubled look. "Here's a hint. Her name is ironic because it's the exact opposite of what she really is." It only took me a millisecond to figure out who she was talking about. For now, we only had four official enemies: Icy, Darcy, Stormy, and Candi (I'd probably never see Blair again, so no use in listing her name). Stella couldn't be talking about the Trix because their names basically defined their personalities (their parents had been spot-on): Icy was as frosty as her name suggested, Stormy's aggressiveness was the equivalent to the fierce rage and energy of a storm, and Darcy was the epitome of darkness as even her magic suggested. That would only leave Candi, who was anything but sweet as her name implied.

"The fuck did Candi do this time?" I growled. I froze in horror as realization dawned over me. "Does it have something to do with…?"

"Damn straight. It was that fucking bitch," spat Musa, lifting her face so I could see the unadulterated hate crackling in her eyes like unrelenting lightning. "She took pictures, Acadia. The bitch fucking _took pictures_!"

My mouth went Sahara desert-dry. _"What?"_

"She took pictures of me while I was passed out," Flora managed to choke in between wet sobs, "while I was _naked._ And now—" She was crying so hard she couldn't even finish.

"She's using them to blackmail her," glowered Stella icily, "if Flora doesn't do what she says, Candi will leak the photos to everyone she knows at Red Fountain."

It felt like someone had just dropped an anvil on my head. I was suddenly so dizzy, so weak. I had to sit down my ass down before my knees buckled. Apart from Flora's crying, the room was silent as the truth dawned on me and really soaked in. The horrific truth of this fucked-up situation and its devastating realities flooded my mind.

 _Fuck._ Considering Candi was a social butterfly, she was most likely acquainted with Red Fountain's elite, most exclusive clique. If Flora's pictures were to "somehow" be leaked and those bastards got her nudes, they'd spread like a wild fire. They'd be posted all over the internet and shared among hundreds of hundreds of stupid teens and perverted adults all over Magix. And whatever was posted on the internet _stayed_ on the internet. _Forever._ There'd be no possible way to erase Flora's humiliation.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. FUCK.

Suddenly, I was overwhelmed with rage. It sunk and settled in my bones, filling me with newfound energy. _Furious energy_ I wanted to take out on someone. And I knew just the person. Without saying anything more, I rose and turned to leave.

Bloom must've realized what I was about to do because she cried out, "Acadia, _no_!"

"Yes. We cannot afford to do or say anything foolish," said Tecna, her eyes still pried to her handheld. "One wrong move and Flora will suffer tenfold." Flora cried harder.

"Yeah, but we have to do _something_ ," I insisted stubbornly, "Candi knows we care about Flora so she can— _will_ hold those pictures over our head, too."

Now it was Musa's turn to cry. "This is all my fault," she sobbed into her hands, "I never should've let Candi worm her way into my head. I never should've gone to that party. You girls only went to protect me and look what happened!"

"It's not your fault, Musa," said Stella quietly, hanging her head.

"Yes, it is! Bloom said it was a setup and I didn't listen. Candi didn't care about my feelings for Riven. She only targeted me to lure us all to the party so she and her bitch-ass friends could take advantage of one of us." It pissed me off so much that they'd go for Flora. Out of all of us, they had to choose the kindest, most harmless.

"There is nothing we can do," said Tecna blandly, finally setting her device aside to take in our faces. "That's the point. She deviously and successfully exploited our vulnerabilities to trap us in a predicament that will not end pleasantly for us however we choose to handle it."

Bloom scowled at Tecna. "I wouldn't call our friendship and concern for each other 'vulnerabilities.' Candi just found a way to use our morals against us just because she doesn't have any."

Tecna's face was still blank. "Maybe, but this is a cost of attachment and affection. Oftentimes, people have to take the fall for their friends' mistakes regardless of how meek or innocent they are. It's how the worlds work. Unity between people usually always brings misfortunate and calamity."

Tecna was obviously annoying the fuck out of Bloom. "So that's how you see friendship? As a burden, as a mistake? Is that how you see _our_ friendship? As a _risk_?"

Oh shit, now Bloom was triggered. "Bloom. It's alright. Tecna's just being Tecna," said Stella.

"I'm only looking at things logically. Friendship comes with a price, a price that usually isn't worth taking—"

"She doesn't mean that," injected Musa briskly, "she's just—"

"No, I _do_ mean it. If it wasn't for Flora's ties to Musa, Candi wouldn't be hanging her future over her head. Do you what could happen if Candi posted those pictures? Not only would Flora's reputation be damaged forever, but there's a slight possibility she could get kicked out of school. And what happens when she goes to apply for a job later on and her potential employer researches her name online? All they're going to find is an unclothed, exposed Flora. Everyone will judge her—"

Flora intervened with a daunting scream before bursting out of the room in strangled tears. "Tecna! Look at what you've done!" shouted Bloom before bolting out after the nature fairy.

Musa stayed put, burying her face in her arms and letting out her own disheartening sob. "Oh great. Thanks a lot, Tecna," said Stella snidely, standing up. "Way to make Flora feel better." She trudged out of the room next.

Tecna blinked. "What did I say?"

Hell no. I couldn't do this anymore.

I charged out of Dragontail and into the hallway. Bloom, Flora, and Stella were nowhere to be seen. Bloom and Flora were probably halfway outside by now. I made a course for downstairs on my way to the staircase one of the room doors suddenly swung open and almost hit me. I dodged by it by a small shot.

Being in the foul mood I was, I whirled around and hissed, "Hey, watch—"

I came face to face with Candi Burkett.

She gave me a sly smile. "What's wrong with you? It looks like you've seen a ghost."

I wanted to Hulk-smack this bitch. I wanted to snap off each and every one of her fake fingernails and make her eat them. I wanted to pry out her eyes. I wanted to spit in her face. I wanted to yank her hair straight out of her head. I wanted to—

I managed rein in my violent impulses. "You're going to _be_ a ghost if you don't stay the hell out of my way," I managed to counter before prowling off.

She was gonna pay.

She _would_ pay.

* * *

Running had always been my escape, my way of releasing stress.

I was supposed to be studying, but I didn't give two shits about my coursework. Even if I had chosen to study, it'd do be no good. I'd be too distracted to focus and retain the knowledge. So instead, I found myself jogging through the forest.

My jaw was clenched so tight and teeth grinding so hard I could probably bite through stone. My legs were on fire, not from pain but from the irate energy I was channeling into them. I was so enraged, so infuriated, filled with so much hate and anger I'd explode if I kept it contained. Running was my only way of release.

I wanted to go find the girls but that run-in with Candi had got me way too heated. I needed to blow off some steam before I really _did_ kill her.

So here I was on one of the running trails outside campus, trying to sprint my rage away to no avail.

It wasn't until I was at least ten minutes in I realized how much my legs were aching. I hadn't stopped for a break since I started and my body was screaming for me to pause for a minute. So I did.

I conveniently stopped along the bank of Lake Roccaluce. I wanted a decent place to sit while I rested, so I slid down the bank and took a seat on the edge.

I stared out at Lake Roccaluce. The light from the evening sun was leaking through the treetops above, reflecting off the lake and making its surface shimmer with diamond-shaped beads of light. Though the sight was marvelous, I barely acknowledged the beauty of nature. My mind was all over the place, making it difficult for my eyes to focus on the water or _anything._ I was aware of my surroundings, yet I wasn't aware of them at all. I was that distracted, that lost in my own thoughts and emotions.

I just...I just...

 _Fuck._

Why did this shit keep happening to us? Why did everyone have it in for us? Why the universe so _against_ us? It seemed like we'd been coughing up trouble ever since the school year started. Things that shouldn't have been happening were occurring, things that would _never_ take place in the cartoon. My friends were experiencing new pains they never would've experienced in the show. New enemies that didn't even exist in the canon were popping up and causing problems for everyone. Though a few of the past events had lined up with those in the show, the storyline had been severely altered.

And it was probably because of me.

Because _I_ had been teleported here, everything was different. Because _I_ had gone out of my way to try to modify everyone's predetermined fate, issues I would never wish on the girls were arising. It was because of _me._

And, of course, it makes sense. I was never a part of the original show, I was never a character or whatever the fuck. I was never a part of the plan but because I was here anyway, everything had been thrown off _big time._

 _I_ screwed everything up. My very existence alone had disturbed the cartoon's natural flow and the fact I had gone out of my way to alter some of the episodes had made things even worse. Because I interrupted the show's natural course of events, the overall cartoon as a whole had been changed significantly and new events, new threats, new _everything_ were surfacing. And it was all because of _me._

And you know what the worst part about all of this was? Thanks to my breaking the fourth wall and fucking up the storyline, I couldn't even prepare for the shit that was going down. Since this crap had never been written into the initial script, I couldn't even refer to an episode to predict and/or avoid a tragedy. I couldn't prepare for what was happening now or what was to come in the future.

It was my fault. If I hadn't made enemies with Candi before the start of the school year, maybe she wouldn't be targeting Flora. Maybe she'd be worrying about midterms right now instead of her jeopardized reputation/dignity.

"Why are you crying?" a soft voice asked, pulling me out of the emotional black hole I'd been lost in.

I shook back to attention and startled when I found Nereus staring at me. He was floating in the water closest to the bank, concern pooling in his sea-deep eyes. Behind him, his majestic, shimmering tail grazed the water. "I'm not crying," I snapped at the same moment I became aware of the few tears I was shedding. Man, fuck this. When was the last time I even cried? It wounded my pride that a near-stranger had to witness me in my rare time of visible weakness. "What do you want, anyway? Why are you even here? Shouldn't you be attending to your sea-prince duties or some shit?" I didn't mean to sound so mean, but I was trying to hide the raw vulnerability in my voice and developing a harsher tone was the only option.

Nereus saw through my guise. "You were crying. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing. None of your business. Now go away. I don't wanna talk." I wanted to get up and leave but my legs were like gelatin all of a sudden. Ugh, typical. Your legs always decided not to work _right_ when you needed to make a fucking move.

Nereus didn't move either. In fact, he inched closer. "People don't cry without a reason. What is the matter? Has someone…hurt you?"

Translation: _Are you being abused?_

"What? No. _No!_ I'm okay. It's just…one of my friends…Someone at school…" Ugh, I couldn't even get it out.

"Is someone hurting _them_?"

"Yes, just emotionally. This bully…" I took a deep breath, steadying myself. "Basically, in a nutshell, one of my friends is getting blackmailed by some bitch in class. And it's partly my fault she's even _in_ this situation. And to make matters worse, I don't even know what to do about it. My friend's fucking _trapped_ and it's because of _me_."

There was a moment of silence between us.

"How?" asked Nereus after a while.

"What?" I was kinda out of it for a second.

"How is it your fault your friend's in this position?"

"The bitch is only targeting my friends because I made enemies with her before school started. She's taking her hatred out on them as some kind of sick punishment or some shit."

Nereus's face softened sympathetically. "Then you can't possibly blame yourself."

Oh boy. Here we go with this stereotypical nice-guy bullshit.

"The bully is only terrorizing your friends because she knows you care about them. She knows hurting them is a clever way to hurt you."

See, told you so.

"Wow, way to state the obvious, prince. You don't think I know that already? I'm not _dumb_. Don't try to feed me that bullshit—"

"What's bullshit?" demanded a voice. Further out in the lake, Tritannus's head popped up from under the water.

Heaven help me. Considering they were twins, I guess you couldn't get one without the other. They were some sort of package.

"You are," I spat as he neared.

Nereus gave his twin a firm look. "Tritannus, please be civil. Acadia is going through something right now and she doesn't need your—"

"Don't tell me what to do," cut in Tritannus, mirroring his twin's expression. He turned to me and gave me a distasteful look. "You're that peasant who doesn't know her place."

"And you're that asshole who thinks every living thing breathes for him. Oh, wait a minute. Considering you're a triton and all that shit, do you even know what an ass is?"

Tritannus's nose flared. He looked about ready to leap out of the water and wrap his hands around my neck. "How dare you—"

Nereus butted in before an argument erupted. "Enough, Tritannus. Acadia is in a very difficult position right now. Please show some sympathy."

Tritannus snorted in disbelief. "What's wrong? Did her boyfriend break up with her?" he asked sarcastically, as if that was the sole reason a girl were ever in a "difficult position."

"No, you anus. Don't assume a guy's always behind a girl's suffering. It's a _chick_ who giving me and my friends shit. She's blackmailing one of my friends."

"So? Just find something on her and blackmail her right back. What's that thing humans are always saying? Fight fire with fire?"

"Tritannus!" hissed Nereus. He turned to me. "Don't listen to him. That'll only cause more problems."

I was silent. Mostly because I was considering Tritannus's solution. Could that work? If I got some dirt on Candi would I be able to force her to leave Flora alone once and for all? No, considering she was a ruthless bitch, Candi would probably just come after all of us next to back us into a corner for good. No, that wouldn't be a smart idea at all.

"What can I do then?" I found myself asking aloud. "I want to help my friend but there's nothing I can do without the bitch ruining her life."

"Then don't do anything," advised Nereus.

My attention snapped to him. "What?"

"Anything you do will just make things worse for your friend. If you really want to help her, don't interfere."

"And that's supposed to accomplish _what,_ exactly?"

"What goes around comes around. The bully will get what's coming to her in time."

Tritannus and I were staring at him like he was a fool. "Seriously? THAT'S your advice? This girl's been a bitch for probably all of her life and she's doing just great. She might not _ever_ get what she deserves," I pointed out. "And even if she does, it could take YEARS for it to happen. What am I supposed to do until then? Let her bully and use my friend until then?"

"Just curse her and go on with your life," yawned Tritannus.

"Magic isn't the answer to everything, brother. And I'm sorry, Acadia, but that's the best thing I can tell you. If you really love your friend then don't attempt anything that could make things worse for her. And sometimes, doing nothing is doing everything."

I wanted to protest further but I knew he was right in a way. Anything I said or did to Candi could screw Flora over big time. It might just be best to stand aside and let things happen regardless of how I felt about it. I mean, doing the opposite was what got us this far in the first place so maybe instead of trying to intervene in everything I should just allow the story to play out on its own for once.


	22. Problem and 'Resolution'

_Three Weeks Later…_

"I'm going to do it," I said matter-of-factly, rising to my feet.

Bloom seized my shoulder, preventing me from leaving the table. "No! You can't," she hissed, shooting a glance in their direction as if checking to make sure Candi hadn't overhead. "You'll just make it worse."

"It's going to _get_ worse if someone doesn't do something," I retorted in an equally hushed tone.

"What can we do, Acadia? What can we possibly do without hurting her even more?" asked Bloom in a pleading whisper. Though we had practically had this same debate every day for the past three weeks now, it always hurt to hear the defeat in her voice, to face the cruel reality of our situation once again.

I sighed and sat back down, surrendering just as I knew I would. This was how lunch period played out now, with either me or Musa swearing we were going to stand up to Candi only for our friends to act as the voice of reason and dismiss our audaciousness.

Heavy silence fell over our table as we continued our meal. None of us were in the mood to talk. In the beginning, Stella would try to make a witty remark or crack a joke in hopes of lighting the mood or encouraging us to readopt our usual lunch routine we had prior to the blackmail, but gave up when none of us took the bait. We all knew her intentions were good, but how could she possibly expect us to act like ourselves when everything was shitty, when we were missing one of our own?

I couldn't help but glance longingly at the empty seat beside Musa. Flora's. Even after all this time it still felt weird— _wrong_ not seeing her there, not having her here with us. It hadn't been until recently I noticed just how significant each of us was to the functionality of the Winx. Take one of us out of the equation and life seemed abnormal, incomplete. Like a giant crater of emptiness had appeared in her absence, making you feel hollow and raw on the inside. Now I understood why a lot of people were reluctant about making friends; they feared the possibility of getting too attached and forming a bond, a bond that when severed left you depressed and with a waning, cold void of a heart.

I glanced in the direction of floor-to-ceiling windows and stared out at the dreary world outside. The sky was dark with masses of gray clouds, and the central courtyard was glossy, muddy, and near flooded from the nonstop downpour we'd been experiencing. The rain had been coming down relentlessly for almost two weeks now, almost as if the clouds themselves were extensions of our sorrow and wept alongside us.

I tried to focus on sounds of the rain battering the glass, desperate to drown out the surrounding sounds. All around us tables were bustling with activity, crowded with our classmates who had the luxury of spending lunch break like normal, carefree teenagers. Their persistent chatting, gossiping, and giggling rang in my ears, welling me with envy. How I missed the days when all the Winx were together and we could enjoy lunch break like typical lighthearted and untroubled teenagers instead of having to sit in this lonely, insufferable silence.

That feeling of lonesomeness transformed into sheer anger when Candi's light laugh—the most annoying sound in the world—rang out, somehow louder than any other sound in the dining hall. Fury bloomed in my cheeks. Typical. Everything that bitch did was for attention. Everything she did and said was just to draw attention to herself, to have all eyes on her. Although I was tempted to glance over there just to catch a glimpse of Flora, I refrained from doing so just for the simple fact I didn't want to give Candi the satisfaction. And then, as if she somehow knew I resisted, Candi aggravating laughed out loud a second time as if commanding the people who'd ignored her the first time to stop what they were doing and feast their eyes on her.

Even though it was against my better judgment, I gave in and craned my neck in their direction, doing just that. Like every reigning clique, Candi and her entourage sat at the centermost table doing the absolute most. Candi and her top two henchmen were flipping their hair and being all extra, relishing in the attention their new groupies and the rest of the dining hall was giving them. Fuck them—my focus wasn't on those harpies at all. Instead, I was staring at Flora, who quietly sat among them. She was staring down at her lunch, absentmindedly picking around her mashed potatoes. Though from my vantage point I could only see her backside, I was more than positive her deep green eyes were pooling with sorrow and loneliness. Judging by how she sat slumped in defeat, she was broken. She'd given up.

The anger that had blossomed in my cheeks surged to my fists. I was so, _so_ tempted to storm over there, punch the holy hell out of Candi, and then whisk Flora back to where she belonged with must've sensed my exasperation because she gave me a small nudge, one that reminded me I wasn't alone in my frustration but that I needed to act sensibly for Flora's sake. _Sensibly._ I'd come to resent that word over the past three weeks. In case you hadn't noticed, I never did anything " _sensibly"._ Like Riven and Musa, I had a temper and it made it hard for me to act levelheadedly. When I was angry at someone I wanted to take it out on them specifically. _Fuck_ what Nereus suggested—I wanted to make Candi _pay. Fuck_ sitting around and doing nothing—it had gotten us nowhere and only forced Flora into more despair. I was a person of action, and this had gone on long enough. I was going to fuck that bitch up in front of the whole damn—

"That is not the way of a fairy, Acadia," said Bloom quietly, interrupting my thoughts as if she'd read them.

I whipped my head around to challenge her, a retort dangling on the tip of my tongue. As badly as I wanted to speak my mind, much to my own surprise, I ended up biting down on my tongue so hard the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. Bloom was not the enemy here. And she was right. All Alfea Fairies were expected to abide by the same code, one that insisted a true fairy did not always use violence as a first resort.

Though I yearned to march over and kick Candi's ass, I managed to channel enough willpower to keep me glued to the bench.

The rest of lunch was not easy for me.

Though I'd managed to rein in my violent impulses, the anger was still there. And it flared up tremulously when I saw how Candi bossed Flora around. Every few minutes the bitch would tell Flora to go fetch her and her friends something irrelevant like napkins or something just for the hell of it, and Flora would have no choice but to obey.

Candi was obviously making use out of Flora now that she had the girl at her beck and call. The bitch had wasted no time in transforming Flora into her little servant—she'd put the blackmail into full effect not even a day after we found out she had Flora's nudes. Flora was whisked away from us immediately and before we knew it she was doing Candi's homework and running small errands for her. It only got worse over time. Eventually, Flora was around Candi 24/7 and following her around wherever she went, catering to her every need. She had to go where Candi went regardless if it was the mall, a bar, etc. Candi was in complete control of her actions, even her _voice_.

I was ninety percent sure the bitch had told Flora to stop talking to us, because she just started avoiding us out of the blue. Originally, Flora would always make time for us at the end of the day when Candi was finally finished with her, but she didn't go anywhere near us now. She didn't even talk to Bloom, her own roommate.

Candi knew we were close and was trying to detach Flora from us while she simultaneously threw it in our faces. No, the bitch _legit_ tracked us down during random parts of the day to blow her own horn and taunt us with all the "wonderful things" she was making Flora do for her. Musa and I had nearly gotten into a fight with her three times so far.

I hated her. I hated more than the Trix, I think.

The Winx and I were going to find a way to make her pay. I didn't care what we had to do; Candi was going to suffer _tenfold_ for this shit. Some nights sleep I even imagined the most cruel, horrific things happening to her to put my mind at ease long enough so I could fall asleep. I was _that_ hellbent on making Candi hurt.

That bitch was going _down._ Soon, I hoped.

Because of karma didn't give it to her soon, _I would._

* * *

Um, quick question.

WHY IN THE **FUCK** did Trillium Moon sell _shit_?

I wasn't joking. I was staring into a vial of some this very moment. I knew what you were thinking: what kind of retard just stares at shit? I knew it was creepy and weird as fuck, but I couldn't help _but_ stare at it. I mean, what kind of shit was _blue?_ Yes, _blue._

I was the stock clerk, meaning I was in charge of stocking the shelves ( _obviously_ ) with Trillium Moon's mystical merchandise. It generally carried and sold more ingredients for potion-brewing than anything, so most of the goods I handled were in flasks and vials. I'd been in the middle of unloading one of the new packages that'd been shipped to the store just this morning when I came across this weird lumpy blue stuff— _shit._

I turned the bottle over and read the small label. "Sunray spider waste? _The hell_? I didn't even know spiders shitted." Shitted was the correct past tense, right? Or was it _shat_?

Azriel, who was lying on the counter nearby the cash register, lazily lifted his head and rolled his eyes. "Of course they do. _Every_ living thing has to expel waste."

"Yeah, but who'd wanna use _spider shit_ in a _potion_?" I didn't know which was worse: the fact some poor soul had _actually_ tracked down a sunray spider (whatever the fuck that was) to collect its shit, or the fact people actually _bought_ the shit to use in a concoction (which, hopefully, was NOT meant to be edible. Remind me to _never_ drink a potion unless I had the word-for-word list of ingredients).

Azriel yawned. "I don't feel like explaining it to you. Ask your friend," he said, bobbing his furry head in Flora's direction. "She's not _completely_ ignorant in potioncraft, unlike you and the red. You two couldn't even brew a simple remedy for a common cough." He then curled into a ball and was snoring softly once again. I scowled at him. Some "supervisor" he was. All he'd been doing was napping and frequently throwing insults at one of us (and by one of us, I meant _all_ of us).

I stole a glance over at Flora, tempted to make my sixth attempt at starting a nonchalant conversation since we'd started our shift. I ended up biting my tongue. I didn't want to look like I was desperate for her attention (even though I was). Instead, I turned around on my stool and resumed supplying the shelves with the sunray spider shit.

Although Flora, Bloom, and I had just started working here two weeks ago, we'd already got comfortable with our new responsibilities and fallen into a routine. After classes ended we had thirty minutes to ourselves to get whatever we needed done (usually just a little of our homework. Or in Flora's case, Candi's homework. Or whatever errand-of-the-hour the bitch made her run) before we all caught the 3:15 bus and commuted to work together. Though Magix City was legit a few miles always, traffic was always chaotic in the afternoon so it typically took a good thirty minutes just to get to the downtown station. From there, Upolm Avenue was only a five-minute walk away so we always arrived at Trillium Moon precisely ten minutes before our shifts started.

Upon our arrival and getting settled in, Andelle and Violet would always relent power of the shop to us before disappearing into the backroom (where employees were _not_ allowed) until we had an issue with a customer (which was rarely) or it was time to close up. In their absence, Azriel was tasked with supervising us as well as guarding the shop. He sucked at both of them.

While as I was TM's stock clerk (ooh, fancy), Bloom was the cashier (ha, poor her), and Flora and the assistant manager (lucky). I was completely content with my position. In fact, being the stock clerk was actually pretty sweet. Not only did I NOT have to deal with the customers or their messes, but since I handled the merchandise I got to marvel at TM's wide variety of magical goods firsthand. Every new shipment gave me something to wonder at whether it be a jar of dragon drool, or, in this case, a vial of sunray spider poop (still couldn't get over that). Plus I was constantly active so my legs couldn't cramp.

If anything, it was _Bloom_ who got the short end of the stick. Being a cashier seemed SUPER boring. All she did was stand in the same position the whole shift, working the same machine, pressing the same buttons over and over. I'd be bored senseless if I was her but Bloom seemed content with her job, which was good enough for me.

Flora had the most responsibility out of all of us. It was her job to make sure Bloom and I stayed on task (since Azriel was so obviously doing a great job at that) as well as handle the customers when minor issues arose. Sometimes, when the store was having a rare moment of peace, she'd often take up a broom or help me load the shelves. She'd also taken it upon herself to water and nourish Trillium Moon's vast assortment of plants every day. She never missed one; if one of the pots were atop an impossibly high shelf she'd simply retrieve a ladder or use her wings. If one of them was in an awkward position, Flora would somehow wriggle into any tight space she needed to. Anything for the sake of the plants.

Flora.

There was so much I wanted to do for her, say to her. But I couldn't. Thanks to the Winx and I's many merciless efforts to get through to her, Flora had started to steer clear of us all together. And it was all because of Candi.

 _Fuck_ her.

It was because of that bitch Flora was so depressed (or something close to it). And she was only getting worse. Originally, when Candi first started blackmailing her, Flora hadn't been _too_ unlike herself. Sure, she'd be a little dismayed, but she would always find time for us at the end of the day. And when we went to work, all of that drama with Candi would momentarily become nonexistent. Flora would revert back to her usual self again. But things were different now. Now, Flora wouldn't talk to us after classes or even come near us. She would no longer elaborate on the shit Candi was putting her through, nor would she even smile at us. Or even _look_ at us. And to make things worse, her despair had followed her to the workplace. She didn't even attempt to talk to me and Bloom about anything outside of work and she straight up avoided us whenever she got the chance. She didn't even make eye contact anymore.

Candi was obviously putting her through hell.

The Winx and I constantly worried about her, but there was ultimately nothing we could do to change her predicament at the moment. We were stuck. _She_ was stuck.

I watched Flora out of the corner of eye. She was circling the room with the watering can, nurturing the plants. Her face was blank, but that was the closest she'd come to looking happy in a while. When she was with the plants. Or when _that person_ visited the shop.

I turned my attention back to the task at hand. Just as I was shelving a jar of Creatarian troll drool (which had the thick, white consistency of mayonnaise. _Gag_. It was beyond me how anyone could tolerate looking at that stuff, let alone use it in a potion), the entry bell rang as the glass entrance opened. I didn't have to look up to know who'd just entered Trillium Moon.

Flora whirled around, her face brightening just a little at the sight of the new customer. "Good afternoon, Karel," she greeted him with the faintest— _faintest_ hint of cheerfulness.

Karel. _That person_ I'd mentioned two paragraphs ago.

I glanced over my shoulder at Trillium Moon's most regular customer. Karel was the same guy who'd held the door open for us the day we'd first visited TM, that young man with the flared teal hair. I hadn't occurred to me when I first saw him, but Karel was actually a character from the Winx Club comic series. Though I'd never read the comic he stared in, I found out about him from surfing the Winx Club Wikia pages like a true superfan. From what I'd read, Karel debuted in one of the early comics that was either set later in season one or after it, but definitely before season two (I never really understood how the comics worked. Since they followed the timeline of the cartoon I always just assumed they were just the lesser adventures of the Winx in between major events.)

For some odd reason, Karel was the only person who could bring something close to a smile to Flora's face in her time of gloominess. I think it had something to do with the fact Karl had been Flora's love interest in the comic canon. Although practically all the Winx had a string of non-Specialist love interests in the comic series, Flora only had one from what I remembered. That was Karel. He was meant to be Flora's potential lover prior to Helia. Considering they both looked the same, it was my theory Karel's character design had been based off Helia's. Sure, Karel's comic came out first, but only a month or two before the season-two episode with Healia's first appearance aired. For that matter, Helia had definitely been in the picture first considering his episode had come pretty early on in the season, meaning he'd been written into the storyline months prior to Karel's comic. Apart from that, Karel had actually been a backgrounder in the cartoon a few times, though he'd never had an official speaking role. (Yes, I kept up with this stuff. Don't judge me).

Karel didn't smile at Flora, or even say anything to her. All he did was give a small nod of acknowledge before proceeding to pick up his weekly ingredients. Karel was a distant one. He didn't talk much and never smiled or opened to Flora's friendly advances. We didn't know much about him beside the one thing Azriel had told us: he was good with potions.

He came in every few days to buy a few things for his concoctions and though he usually bought an assortment of things, he always purchased peppermint, this doughy-looking pink crap with a name I couldn't pronounce, this foamy white stuff with another name I couldn't pronounce, and this bubbly purple substance with yet _another_ name I couldn't pronounce (Azriel was forever calling me illiterate since I couldn't properly enunciate half of the names of the ingredients Trillium Moon carried).

I watched with keen interest as Karel silently commenced with his routine shopping trip. His trips to TM were always short and precise; as soon as he came in he always made a course straight for the potion ingredients, collected what he needed without so much as showing interest in the other merchandise or _us_ for that matter _,_ paid for his shit, and then left. I observed him every time he came in and I knew he knew it—he just ignored me. I couldn't help myself; Karel was just so mysterious. As new employees, Flora, Bloom, and I started to become familiar with the store's regulars—like that teenage who came in every week to buy an anti-pimple potion or that hot vampire who kept getting hexed by his girlfriend and stumbled into Trillium Moon every once in a while for Andelle or Violet to lift the curse—but Karel was one guy who remained a stranger.

I spied on him as Flora tried to start a conversation with him. Part of me wondered if she liked him. I wasn't gonna lie, dude was pretty fine. He was muscular like the Specialists and though he looked around our age, there was something about his intriguing air that made him seem older, more mature. I couldn't explain it. I wouldn't mind if Flora _did_ like him, but I leaned more toward the HeliaxFlora pairing (Okay, I _adored_ it. Helia and Flora were the best WC couple in my opinion. SkyxBloom was too annoying and stereotypically cliché in that we're-the-main-characters-so-our-relationship-is-supposed-to-be-perfect aspect, StellaxBrandon was alright but I always felt like they were only the "it" couple after Sky and Bloom only because they were their best friends, TecnaxTimmy was pretty solid but I oftentimes preferred to see T and T have a romance outside of technology, and RivenxMusa was kind of fucked up considering Riven's douchery).

Too bad Helia wasn't around yet. Maybe he'd be able to help Flora emotionally. Hmm. I wonder what would happen if he'd been part of the first season's storyline. How much would the story change, and would it be for the better or worse? Were the Specialists even acquainted with him yet? I doubted it. That'd just be weird to have him show up out of the blue. Would Flora even like-like him then? I didn't know. For that matter, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to track him down and throw him at her. Not that I'd been considering it. Okay, so maybe I _had,_ but I was not about to take my chances and throw off the storyline even more off course.

But still. Maybe that _wouldn't_ be a bad idea…

* * *

Although our shifts at TM lasted four hours, it always only felt like one. Time flew by and before we knew it it was time to leave. Azriel disappeared into the night to do whatever the heck demon cats did, and Andelle and Violet emerged to help with the after-hours cleaning. After exchanging goodnights with them, Bloom, Flora, and I grabbed our jackets and proceeded to head out.

Bloom was the first to get to the door, pushing it open and allowing some of the crisp, clean night air to waft into the building. However, instead of walking out, Bloom remained frozen in the doorway, her whole body tense as she stared out at what awaited us on TM's doorstep.

You had _got_ to be kidding me.

Loitering under a streetlamp on the sidewalk in a suffocating mist of lavender perfume was none other than Candi and her nameless pair of loyal groupies. Though the three of them were always scandalously dressed, they looked extra skimpy tonight in slutty crop tops, mini-miniskirts, and hooker heels. Their hair was glimmering with glitter and their makeup was applied so flawlessly it looked airbrushed. They were bent over their phones but snapped to attention when they saw us, their mouths upturning into cruel, identical smiles at the sight of Flora.

Oh _hell_ no.

I pushed Bloom aside and stormed outside to confront them. "What the fuck are you doing here?" I asked thinly.

"Don't worry, we're not here for us," purred Candi. She stared over my shoulder me and smirked at Flora, who was lingering in the doorway with Bloom. "C'mon, Flora. We have somewhere we need to be." Behind her, her minions snickered evilly.

Flora's eyes widened. _"Now?"_

"Yes, _now._ The boys invited us to a party and we're gonna be late if you don't hurry up."

Oh, I'll be _damned_. "No hell. You're not taking her anywhere this late," I spat, stepping in front of Flora and gesturing up toward the early night sky. It was five minutes past eight, and the curfew for freshmen on school days started at ten. And judging by how these bitches were decked out, they were planning on staying out wayyy later than that.

Candi rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Like curfew every stopped you and _your_ friends. Now c'mon Flora. The boys are waiting."

"Fuck that. Flora's going back to school," I growled, "we just got off work and she needs to rest, not to mention catch up on all the homework she's been missing because of _someone._ " I feared for Flora's safety. Now that Candi had Flora under her control who knew what the bitch would try to make her do. What if she forced Flora to strip for the perverted partygoers? What if she had her smoke weed or snort coke or do Ecstasy? No, I was getting carried away. Flora wasn't _that_ stupid. But still. Something could go disastrously wrong.

Candi gave a small laugh that was somehow both nasty and beautiful. "So? That's not my problem so I don't care. And last time I checked, Flora does what _I_ say so run off back to school before you make things worse for her."

A threat, plain and simple.

My nostrils flared. "Bitch, let me tell you something—"

"Stop," interjected Flora wearily, stepping around me and sidling up to Candi's friends submissively. She wouldn't even meet my eyes as she said, "It's okay, Acadia. You and Bloom should get back to school before it gets too late."

My heart dropped to my stomach. "Flora—"

"Just go. I'll be fine. Stay safe, okay?"

Bloom and I just stood there, completely helpless as Candi spritzed some lavender perfume on Flora before prancing down Upolm Avenue, Flora obediently trudging close behind. We remained frozen in the middle of the sidewalk well after they disappeared around the corner.

"C'mon. We're going to miss our bus," reminded Bloom gently, taking my hand and guiding me down the avenue in the opposite direction.

I was a bit hesitant at first because I wanted to follow them, but then I yielded when I remembered there was someone at Alfea I wanted to talk to. That someone had something to do with the game plan I'd been formulating to take down Candi, one I was dying to put into motion.

I'd had it up to here with this "doing nothing is doing everything" cougarshit ('bullshit' is _sooo_ overused). This crap had gone off long enough and it was time to act.

 _Now._

* * *

Later, I stormed into Whytewich and made a course for Alice's room. Just as I was about to knock on her door, it opened and Mi-Sun came out.

She blushed. "Oh, Acadia! I, uh, was just coming to ask you something…"

"Yes?" I inquired halfheartedly, peering over her head (she was a short ass) and into her and Alice's room. The lights had been dimmed and about two dozen candles were arranged around Alice's half of the room, emitting the sweet aroma of vanilla. Alice herself hovered a few inches over her head with her legs crossed and eyes closed, meditating in the shadows formed from the wavering candlelight.

"Oh, well, um…" stammered Mi-Sun, fidgeting and staring at the carpet bashfully.

"Yes?" I repeated, wishing she'd just spit it out so I could walk in and talk to Alice.

There must've been an impatient edge in my voice, because Mi-Sun quickly and apologetically said, "Er, never mind. I'm sorry." And then she quickly stepped around me and exited the apartment. A wave of guilt washed over me. I didn't mean to scare her away. Mi-Sun was the shy type and had barely held a conversation with any of us. Eh, I'd worry about her later. I was on a mission right now.

I entered the room, stepping around the candles strewn around Alice's side. "You wanted something, Acadia?" she asked without opening her eyes.

I took a deep breath. How could I explain this? "I need your help," I started.

Before I could explain, Alice calmly said, "A bully is blackmailing one of our closest friends and you want me to use my future vision to glimpse into their future to see if they're going to do something despicable so you can use it against them in exchange for your friend's freedom."

That's a precog for you. Always one step ahead of you. "Pretty much," I nodded. The only way to fight fire was with fire. If Candi wanted to blackmail Flora, I would just to have to blackmail her back to level the playing field. I just needed some good dirt on her. And I figured, who better to have some then the girl who knew what you were going to do even before you did it? All I needed was for Alice to give me the date, time, and place of the next time Candi was going to fuck up and you'd best believe I was going to be fucking prepared for that day.

"You already know your answer."

"Yes?"

"No." Alice opened her eyes, training her stunning eyes on me. "For one, that's not how recognition works. I can't choose what visions I see. Second, you know that is not the way of a true fairy," she reminded gently. Ugh, not this shit again.

"Yes, but I'm not going to sit around and let Flora be used like some kind of puppet. The only way to put the bitch in her place is to give her a taste of her own medicine."

"Fairies don't seek revenge, Acadia. I know you are frustrated, but attempting to 'fix' the situation this way will only lead to more chaos." There was no scorn in her voice—only tranquility and patience. Hours-long meditation could do that do a person. "Trying to dish your opinion of justice will only worsen things. Have you ever heard the expression 'doing nothing is doing everything?'" I had a feeling she knew I had. "Sometimes it's best to sit back and let justice serve itself naturally."

Ugh, double not this shit again. I threw her the same cold question I'd given Nereus when he suggested the same thing: "And how long is _that_ supposed to take?"

"Take it from the girl who can see the future: justice _will_ come for Flora. In time."

Translation: No time soon.

Man, fuck this shit.

"Thanks, but I don't exactly feel like waiting that long," I scowled, turning to leave. She wouldn't help me? Fine then. I'd just have to uncover some shit on Candi by myself. This school was full of chicks who hated the queen bee as much as me. I'd sure they'd be more than happy to spill.

Like I said earlier: I was done waiting around. It was time to shut this shit down for good.


	23. Um, We Have a Situation

**A/n: THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the support and feedback! I can't believe this story already has 77 favorites, 80 follows, and over 13,000 reads! I think that's fairly exceptional in comparison to a majority of the other stories in the Winx Club Archive. My goal is to make** _ **O Wondrous Wielder of the Winds**_ **one of the most popular Winx Club stories on this sight and at the rate it's growing we just might make it happen! Again, I wanna say thank you to** _ **all**_ **of my loyal readers who're making my dreams come true. You have no idea how much this means to me. Just knowing there are people out there who actually read and like my writing is what inspires me to keep going.**

 **Well, here's chapter 23. Enjoy~**

* * *

Candi showed up to not one of her classes the next day.

When she failed to appear at breakfast I just assumed she was on another one of those stereotypically popular starve-yourself-until-you-drop-from-malnutrition diets and intentionally skipped, but then she was a no-show at our shared first-period class. I then came to the conclusion she was suffering from a massive hangover from whatever party she, her friends, and Flora had gone to the previous night and was bent over a toilet somewhere. But _then_ I didn't see her at lunch period, which made it pretty obvious something was off. As the reigning queen bee of Alfea, Candi _always_ came to lunch—not to eat but to preserve her status as the queen of Alfea's student body, to remind her subjects/victims that she was in control and always watching them with a ruthless, all-seeing eye from the comfort of her reserved seat at the centermost table. It didn't matter if a teacher kept her after class or she got into a World Star-worthy fight in one of the bathrooms; regardless of what happened prior to lunch period, Candi dutifully and punctually made it on time every single day so I couldn't help but become suspicious when she was MIA. It was unnatural.

The dining hall felt… _off_ without Candi's bitchy presence and I think the rest of my classmates noticed it too. Everyone at the surrounding tables stole glances at the popular girls and spread their own theories about the top bitch's disappearance through hushed whispers. The only ones who didn't seem bothered by Candi's abnormal absence were Candis's friends themselves. Her whole group sat at their usual exclusive table, gossiping and giggling with each other as if nothing was wrong, as if they failed to notice the head honcho wasn't bitching in their company (sorry if I was being repetitive, but _bitch_ was literally the only word I could use to describe her right now). One of Candi's groupies had even taken this as an opportunity to steal the seat Candi usually sat in and claim it as her own. Whoa, some "friends" the queen bee had. She hadn't even been gone a day and her friends were already moving in on her territory. Eh, served her right.

Even Flora, who'd been sitting amid them since the start of the blackmailing, looked confused. It was my guess that being an outsider/Candi's new "loser" servant, the others hadn't bothered filling Flora in on Candi's whereabouts judging _they_ even knew where she'd vanished off to. They probably did and just didn't give a damn (I know I wouldn't), taking Candi's nonattendance as a long-needed break from her nagging, bitching ass.

Though the rest of the school day continued Candi-free (hallelujah), that didn't make my mission any easier. I hadn't been fucking around when I told Alice I was going to find some shit on Candi. I started digging for some dirt the second morning time came but, unfortunately, by the time classes ended I still had nothing. I didn't understand; I thought people would take Candi's disappearance as a chance to squeal on her, but everyone kept their mouths sealed tight when it came to the juicy stuff. I knew I was asking the right people; since nosy Stella kept up her nose in everyone's business and knew what went down behind the teachers' backs, she pointed me toward the girls who were guaranteed to know one or two of Candi's dark secrets.

" _Trust me, these girls will be more than happy to spill," Stella had assured, "Candi's wronged each and every one of them so they'll be thrilled to rat her out."_

She couldn't have been any more wrong. No one— _no one_ talked. They didn't hint at anything, or even try to put me on a trail that'd guide me to the answers I was looking me. No, instead everyone either changed the subject or just outright ignored me. And now I was frustrated as fuck.

"Has it occurred to you that maybe these girls are also being blackmailed?" pointed out Bloom later that afternoon in her in the Winx's apartment. She'd invited me over so we could do a little homework together before it was time to go to work, and now we were sprawling on the floor with our textbooks. I'd just elaborated on my unfruitful day and Bloom attentively listened, which secretly made me feel a lot better.

That realization made me pause in the middle of a potionology equation. I thought about it for a moment before letting out a groan of annoyance/embarrassment and slapping myself in the forehead. "Ugh, I'm so _stupid_!" I growled, "of course! How did I not think of that?" It all made sense when I thought about it; the reason Candi's victims had refused to talk to me was because they couldn't _afford_ to. How could they when Candi was holding something over all of their heads? They were all in the same position as Flora; if they so much as _whispered_ something negative about Candi or did something she didn't like, she'd expose their secrets if— _when_ she found out about their treachery. Just like Flora, they were wrapped about her delicate little finger. They were her puppets. That was probably how Candi had been able to ensnare Flora in her net so flawlessly; she was an expert in blackmailing. She had a string of victims at her beck and call to prove it.

A twinge of guilt pierced my heart. How stupid and inconsiderate of me. I never took that consideration and now I felt so ashamed, so selfish. The only thing I could think about was hurting Candi and avenging Flora; I never once took into account all the girls I tried talking to today actually had a legit reason for staying quiet.

"Don't beat yourself up about it," said Musa, looking at me sympathetically. "It's not your fault." _It's mine_ , her guilt-ridden eyes seemed to scream.

"It's definitely not," agreed Stella, who was sitting on the couch painting her toenails, with a nod. "From what it sounds, Flora's not the only one in a tight spot. Candi probably has a fifth of the school on a tight leash."

"That's what I don't understand. How does _one_ chick have _that_ many girls under her control?" I snorted with disgust. "It's sick."

"In case you haven't noticed, our precious Candi's the cold-bitch type," said Musa with a scowl, "why do things for yourself when you can just spend _more_ time backing people into a corner so they can do them for you? She's extremely fucked up in the head. Instead of focusing on the meaningful things in life, she'd rather direct her energy toward manipulating, hurting, and setting up people."

"That's why I think fighting fire with fire is a bad idea in this situation," said Bloom, "blackmailing Candi is not the way to help Flora. Not only is it wrong, but it'll only make things more complicated. Do you honestly think Candi will simply back off just because we know one of her many dark secrets? No, she's cunning and ruthless. She'll just find a way to work around it, to back us into a corner for good."

"But what _can_ we do?" I argued. "Tell an adult?" I said the last part sarcastically. No way could we go to a teacher about this. Not only would it humiliate Flora further but, ultimately, no adult regardless of their occupation or authority was capable of stopping Candi. Sure, they could notify her parents or even suspend her, but they could not control her actions. Despite their attempts to discipline her, nothing or no one could stop Candi from leaking those pictures of Flora. _Nothing._

"I got it!" exclaimed Stella suddenly, finally looking up from her toes. "Why don't we just have Tecna hack Candi's phone and erase all her pictures of Flora?" Musa, Bloom, and I looked between each other in stunned silence, half amazed at the fact Stella actually had a good idea for once and half embarrassed that we hadn't thought of it earlier.

"That would be a waste of time," said Tecna matter-of-factly as she emerged from her room, murdering the hope we hadn't even had for a minute yet. "I'm more than positive Candi has the picture backed up on several flash drives. Though accessing her devices and deleting the pictures would be child's play for someone with even basic hacking skills, it would be meaningless when she has the files backed up."

"Okay, so she has them stored on flash drives. So what? Can't you just hack those too?" asked Musa hopefully, almost desperately.

"No," was Tecna's merciless, impassive reply. "In order for me to tap into them I'd need physical access to them first."

"So unless we feel like trespassing into Candi's room and going on a scavenger hunt, we're screwed," I groaned. "So we're back to where we started."

Musa gritted her teeth and clenched a fist. "It's hopeless. No matter what we think of nothing can help Flora."

" _Something_ can," argued Bloom, "we just need to approach the situation differently. _Reasonably."_ She looked at me pointedly.

I tried not to sound impatient as I said, "Bloom, I know you're trying to avoid more drama, but blackmailing Candi is the only way to keep her quiet."

"Blackmail her with _what_? No one would tell you anything, remember?" reminded Musa, just annoyed as me.

"That's because we've been going at this all wrong," announced Stella, applying another coat of orange polish. "The one we _really_ should've been talking to all along is Blair Van Rensselaer."

I got a bad taste in my mouth at the mention of her name. "Why do you say that?"

"Candi might be the most popular here at Alfea, but she's actually one of Blair's minions outside of school," replied Stella flatly, "we shouldn't be trying to get information out of the girls Candi has control over, but out the girl who has control over _her_." _Oh yeah._

"Did anyone _not_ hear what I just said?" asked Bloom sarcastically, glaring at the blond.

"There's just one problem. How are we supposed to get in contact with her?" I pointed out, "and if we did, what makes you think she'd tell us anything without a price?"

Before Stella could answer, the door swung open and in walked Flora. Immediately, we all shut up about the Candi thing.

"Hi, Flora. How was your day?" asked Bloom brightly.

I expected Flora to murmur a half-assed reply and flee to her room like she'd been doing ever since Candi started blackmailing her, but the nature fairy glanced between us and asked, "Has any of you seen Candi today?" The concern in her voice confused and bothered the shit out of me.

We all muttered a no and I swear I heard Musa say something profane under her breath. "You haven't seen her?" asked Bloom, sitting up. Though that much was obvious, Bloom was clearly taking this as an opportunity to spark a conversation with Flora since she'd barely spoken to any of us these past few weeks.

Flora shook her head gravely. "We went to one of her friends' parties last night. Her boyfriend showed up later and I guess she didn't want me around them, so she sent me back to school by myself."

That was news to me. "What about Candi's friends?" I asked.

"They left before me."

I felt the anger blooming inside of me again. "That harpy! The fuck's wrong with her, making you come back to school that late at night by yourself? That's _dangerous_. Something could've happened."

"You could've called us, Flora," said Bloom gently, "we would've came and picked you up so you wouldn't have had to come back to school alone." Flora refused to meet her eyes.

"So that settles it," announced Stella, "Candi ran off somewhere with her boyfriend and spent the night with him instead of coming back to school. I bet she even got her parents to call Headmistress Faragonda and give some lame excuse as to why she why she was a no-show in class. Considering her father _is_ a senator of Magix and is known for donating money to all its major schools, she can get away with just about anything."

"Who gives a fuck about her? Something terrible could've happened to Flora last night," spat Musa. " _She_ could've been the one missing right now."

Flora looked down at her shoes. "Girls, it's fine—"

"No hell!" I protested. Just because Candi had her on a ball and chain didn't give her the right to keep putting Flora in these shitty, fucked-up situations.

I wanted to give the bitch a piece of my mind, but I knew that'd only complicate things for poor Flora. _Anything_ we said or did would. I bet that was what Candi wanted. She knew we all cared for Flora and that watching her go through all this shit would torment us. She was deliberately aggravating us, knowing we couldn't do a damn thing to stop her. And if we tried, she'd gleefully make Flora suffer for it. This was nothing but a game to her. A sickening little game where she screwed around with her victims' heads and emotions all for the sake of her cruel, demonic little pleasure. It was enough to make me scream.

To be honest, it was a little reliving to know she was gone. Sure, she'd probably just waltz in tomorrow and continue her reign of terror, but it was nice not having her here breathing down everyone's necks.

You know what? _Fuck_ hacking and blackmailing. What would _really_ solve this problem? If Candi just stayed gone for good. That way Flora and everyone else would be free. My mom always used to tell me not to say such things when I was smaller, but I didn't give a fuck now. I never wanted Candi to come back. I never wanted to see her witchy ass step foot in Alfea _again_. Mom would oftentimes warn me not to wish for such extreme things because they just might come true, but that was what I truly wanted.

Candi was nowhere to be found and I hoped it _stayed_ that way.

* * *

Simply put, people were assholes.

If this whole situation with Candi didn't prove it, today's string of customers at Trillium Moon sure did.

Legit, practically every person who walked through the glass entrance gave us some shit. It all started with some sphinx lady who came into the shop in search of a detangler for her mane. Like, what the fuck lady? What you need is a really good conditioner, _not_ a magic potion. When we tried to _politely_ explain this, she thought we were coughing up an attitude with her and got offended. After swearing to write a bad review for Trillium Moon online, she finally left fifteen minutes, much to our relief. Unfortunately, about five minutes later, some other bozo wandered in and had the nerve to ask if we sold anything that could get rid of the mold that had randomly started to spawn all over his apartment. Like, dude. What you need is some strong-ass multi-purpose cleaner and better cleaning habits, _not_ a magic potion. After getting triggered and giving us trouble for the next ten minutes, the guy left and in walked yet _another_ dumbass. This one was a shady vampire and wanted to know if we carried—wait for it—anything that could get the blood stains out of his favorite vest. Um _, NO!_ Firstly, why in the _fuck_ would we help you cover up some murder you've probably just committed and secondly, what you fucking need is a stain remover or some fucking bleach, _NOT A MAGIC POTION. SERIOUSLY._ What was with all the morons who thought they needed some special magic remedy to solve their basic problems when in reality all they needed to do was take a trip to their local supermarket?

It got worse as the day went on. It seemed like the rest of the customers were all either brainless or bitchy and extremely unpleasant. Though I usually loved working my shift at Trillium Moon, this time I felt like blowing the whole fucking building down. But what _really_ set me off was when the last customer of the day, some smart-ass prick, came in and tried creating his own concoction at the brew-your-own-potion station. I had no idea what potion he was trying to make, but I _did_ know he made a huge-ass mess. Prick spilt a whole bag of unicorn hair all over the floor and had the nerve to get an attitude when we charged him for it.

So in a nut shell, today was shitty.

It was the end of the day now (thank heavens!) and the shop was closed for the night. The three of us were just finishing up the last of the day's work—basically the rest of the cleaning—and then we'd finally be free to go home. I was helping Bloom sweep up the remainder of the unicorn hair while Flora was wiping down the counters, deep in thought. She'd been like that all day, mainly because she was worried about Candi, who'd still been MIA when we left for work. I didn't get that; Flora was being _blackmailed_ by the bitch, so why did she give a shit about her whereabouts? If anything, I'd be _happy_ she was gone. But then again, this was sweet, innocent Flora we were talking about. Her concern for any and all was sickening sometimes.

"I swear, if that freak _ever_ shows his four-eyed ass around here again…" I muttered, dumping a full dustpan of unicorn hair into the trashcan. We'd gotten the majority of it up for the most part; now all that was left were those hard-to-reach places. I wasn't lying when I say the jackass got it everywhere.

Before Bloom could say anything, the greeting bell chimed abruptly and the glass door blew open so hard it banged against the wall, startling us. Ugh, what a nuisance. First the customers disrespect us and now they show up after hours. I turned around and opened my mouth to tell the newcomers we were closed and that they'd have to come back tomorrow, but the words got stuck in my throat when I saw who was barging into Trillium Moon.

"What are _you_ doing here?" I demanded as the Trix and Riven appeared at the top of the steps. I prepared myself for the disrespect that was sure to come.

Icy gave the whole store a disgusted once-over before scowling at us. "So the rumors are true."

Stormy let out a rude laugh. "I can't believe this."

Darcy, who was latched on to Riven's arm, rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it. Right when I thought those old hags couldn't get more pathetic." I then remembered the Trix used to work here—and that we were their replacements. Of course it'd ruffle their feathers to know they'd been substituted with fairies, but _us_ , their _rivals,_ outof all of them? Shit was about to go down.

"What are you shits doing here?" I growled, putting aside my broom. "Last time I checked you three got _fired._ You're not welcomed here anymore."

Icy rolled her eyes dramatically, proceeding into the store. "Oh please. We never needed this crummy little store. We only worked here in hopes Andelle and Violet would take us in as their apprentices and teach us the advanced Dark Arts. When it was obvious they were just wasting our time we bailed."

"And trashed the whole store in the process," I spat as Icy strolled around the shop, inspecting every inch.

"It's their fault," insisted Stormy, "like Icy said: this place was just a waste of time. Only losers would work here without an ulterior motive." She smirked at Bloom, who was ignoring them as she finished the sweeping.

Riven matched her smirk. "I find this ironic. You all act like you're the stuff around the guys but here you are now, measly little shop girls in a run-down shithole."

Bloom went rigid and she slowly turned around to face Riven, her grip on the broom handle tightening. "Please do not talk about Trillium Moon like that," she requested politely, a cold edge in her voice. Oh shit. This was not going to end well. Flora, who was hovering behind the counter, started to fidget as she nervously watched the scene unfold.

Riven grinned devilishly. "Or what? You're gonna call Brandon so you can hide behind him like you always do?"

Bloom blinked innocently. "I find _that_ ironic coming from the sucker who's being played by a bunch of witches." Oh snap! Bloom had insults!

Riven, who hadn't been ready for that comeback, looked taken aback for a moment. "Shut the hell up," he barked, "I'm not being played." Behind him, Stormy and Darcy exchanged smug glances. Oh yeah. He was _totally_ being played. The rage on Riven's face was then replaced with another smirk. "But we all know who is."

Oh boy, here we go with _this_ bullshit.

"No. We don't," said Bloom blandly, glaring at Riven before going back to her work.

Riven laughed lightly before stuffing his hands in his pockets and taking decisively slow steps around Bloom. "Don't act dumb, red. The only one you're playing for a fool is Brandon. Everyone here knows what you really are."

"Shut the fuck up, Riven," I warned.

"Oh yeah? And what's that?" challenged Bloom, the sounds of the broom's bristles brushing against floor growing louder as she swept furiously.

Riven's devilishly grin grew wider as he paused behind Bloom and leaned in closer so that his mouth was at level with her ear. "A slut," he whispered so subtly I barely heard him. Bloom's whole body tensed at the word and Riven, pleased that he'd gotten the reaction he'd been looking for, simply resumed his pacing around her. "Brandon, that dumb little fool. He's always bitching about who I hang out with when he doesn't even realize he's being used."

Um, _no._

"Riven," I snapped. I was about to storm over and slap the shit out of him, but Icy seized my shoulder. A sharp cold tore through my body and down to my legs and I looked down to see my legs were now frozen to the floor.

Icy gave me a wintery blue smile. "Not so fast little fairy. It's starting to get good." I couldn't believe this! This was just Tuesday night entertainment for her and her sisters, who were watching the drama play before their eyes with sinister smiles glued to their faces.

"Fuck you." I tried spitting in her face, but she got out of the way just in time.

"I'm not using Brandon," said Bloom, her voice quivering more than I knew she'd like.

"Oh? From what I heard you hang out with a number of different guys," purred Riven, "and Brandon, that blond moron, is your latest victim. You don't really care about him. He's just your temporary entertainment. Once you get bored of him you'll just kick him to the curb like you do all your other love struck monkeys."

"I'm not using Brandon," repeated Bloom, turning her back to Riven when he tried to slink into her personal space.

Riven rolled his eyes as if he didn't believe her for a second. "Right. You're no fool, Bloom. The second you saw how easy Brandon was you moved in on him and now you have him wrapped around your little finger."

"Don't listen to this overgrown shit, Bloom," I warned.

Stormy scowled at me and then looked at Icy. "Can't you freeze her mouth shut or something?"

"Brandon and I are genuine friends. There is nothing going on between us," said Bloom firmly.

"Yeah, 'friends.' You like him, don't you red?"

"No," said Bloom way too quickly, giving herself away.

Riven laughed again. "You do! So that's why you used your charms on him. How sad. I hate to break it to you, Bloom, but he's only interested in you now because his luck with girls is shitty. As soon as another girl gets his attention he'll run after her and forget all about you."

"You're wrong," said Bloom shakily, her voice hitches as though she was near tears.

Riven kept going. "Am I, Bloom? Or are you just deceiving yourself? Who knows? Maybe it's _you_ who's under _his_ spell."

"Riven stop," ordered Flora in an iron-hard voice I rarely heard.

"You don't know what you're talking about." Bloom's voice was getting weaker and weaker and she started to tremble.

Seeing he had successfully broken her down, Riven went in for the kill. "I think I do. And I also think you're just a dumb little girl. You think you're the shit but you're _not_. You think people care about you but they _don't_. You think Brandon likes you but he _doesn't_. And guess what? He _never_ will, Bloom. One day he'll come to his senses and he'll realize you're a waste of time. He'll realize he never wanted anything to do with you in the first place. And when that happens what will you do? You'll just go crying to the next sorry sap who—"

" _SHUT UP!"_ screamed Bloom, whirling around with angry tears in her eyes and swinging the broom at Riven's head. Riven, who had decent reflexes thanks to his training at Red Fountain, ducked and Bloom ended up slapping a decorative glass vase right off a display table. It collided with the ground with an ear-splitting shatter as it broke into jagged fragments, sending glass flying everywhere.

"What's going on out here?" demanded Andelle's sudden voice. We all turned to see her and Violet shuffling out from the backroom. How they hadn't heard anything prior to that was beyond me, but I was just glad they finally decided to show up. Andelle zeroed in on the Trix. "You three again? You have some nerve coming back here."

At the sight of the Trillium Moon sisters the Trix sisters made a beeline for the entrance. "C'mon, Riven," snapped Darcy, grabbing the Specialists' arm and yanking him toward the door as Icy reached out for the handle. However, before she could, the door flew open.

" _Via Levitus."_

Next thing I knew, Icy, Stormy, Darcy, and Riven were being lifted off the ground in a clear bubble as Azriel casually strolled out from the night and into the store. He took one look at Bloom, who was wiping the tears away with her sleeve, and then at the broken glass before distastefully saying, "Why do I get the feeling I just walked in on a scene from one of those cheesy teen TV dramas?"

* * *

"I'm sorry, guys," said Bloom apologetically as we crossed over onto campus later that night. Though Andelle and Violet had insisted otherwise, we stayed later to help clean up the glass after Azriel successfully used his magic to dump the Trix and Riven on the curb. The witches, who were smart enough not to challenge Andelle and Violet, fled like cowards. I was more than sure they'd make us pay for that later.

Flora gave Bloom's hand a squeeze. "It's alright. Just don't let them get in your head next time. You're stronger than that."

Bloom's shoulders relaxed and she nodded, looking relieved by the fact Flora was back to her old self for now. "I don't know what got over me," she said as we entered the dormitory. "I knew Riven was just trying to get a rise out of me, but everything he said still hurt. I was stupid for letting him get to me—"

"Girls!" cried out Stella, she and Musa nearly pouncing on us the second Bloom opened the door to their apartment. "You're okay! We thought something happened!"

"Uh, yeah. We just stayed at Trillium Moon a little longer," said Bloom carefully, "why? What's wrong?"

Musa's eyes swelled. "You mean you haven't heard?"

"Haven't heard what?" Flora, Bloom, and I all asked in unison.

Stella looked at uncharacteristically serious for once. "Candi was kidnapped."


	24. Um, We Have ANOTHER Situation

**A/n: This chapter might be bad; I rushed it since I wasn't feeling right this week.**

* * *

I was camping out in my closet right now, and not by choice.

It was two days later and I was legit living in my closet in my dorm room. I had no other option; it was either sit in here for the rest of the day or roast alive outside.

See, these past two days had literally been hell on earth— _Magix_. It was suddenly got hot as fuck out of nowhere, and it was all anyone was talking/complaining about besides Candi's "kidnapping."

Two days ago while Flora, Bloom, and I had been entertaining the Trix at Trillium Moon, Senator Burkett went live on air and proclaimed his daughter had been "kidnapped." I put air quotes around it because I didn't believe it for a second. I had two theories: either this was nothing but a hoax to increase Senator Burkett's ratings, or the senator himself actually had no idea where his daughter was and thought it'd be easier on his reputation to lie and claim his daughter was abducted instead of admitting to/coming to terms with the fact his daughter was an uber slut and was most likely imprudently crashing at one of her boyfriend's house.

Although I didn't believe the senator's sad story for a minute, the rest of the school—and Plant Magix for that matter—ate it up. Suddenly, Candi's "abduction" was all anyone at Alfea could talk about. You know how it was whenever the media presented to the public with a story that was intended to be tragic no matter how slight or exaggerated; suddenly people were drowning in their own tears and acting all sympathetic like they truly cared when, in reality, while a lot of them were being legitimately genuine, the majority actually didn't give a shit was just putting on an act so they wouldn't look like heartless assholes. That was what was happening at Alfea; practically all of the girls were being dramatic and shit and offering the Burketts their prayers and condolences when in truth they all knew they were just being insincere and fake as fuck. 65% of the student body couldn't give less of a shit about Candi's disappearance; they were simply keeping up appearances for their peers and teachers.

I, on the other hand, didn't even try to act or even _look_ sympathetic. In fact, I was the completely opposite. I was _thankful_ the bitch was gone. Apart from the insufferable heat, these past two days had been heaven without her. Flora was starting to actually acknowledge us again, which was great. Things were slowly but steadily returning to how they should've been. Though it was wrong, a part of me actually wished Candi would never come back and ruin this. Alfea was better off without her.

My phone dinged and I checked it to see a new text from Musa.

 _Musa: Get over here ASAP_

Um, not happening. It was too damn hot to—

 _Musa: And don't give me that BS about how u can't do shit in this heat. Get off your ass & get over here NOW. It's important._

UGGHHHH. "This better be good," I muttered to myself as I picked myself up. I was greeted by a gust of heat the second I opened the closet door. Even with the blinds closed and curtains drawn it felt around ninety degrees in Amaryl's and I's room. It was so hot it fucking _smelt_ like heat. And it was only worse outside in the hallway. Literally _no one_ was in the halls it was THAT hot. And the staff _swore_ they had the AC blasting at full power.

I trudged down the hall, making my way toward Dragontail. The door was unlocked as usual, so I let myself in. The Winx were already in mid-conversation by the time I entered the living room, their voices hushed and heated.

"Please, calm down. It's not a big deal," Flora was pleading to Musa, whose fists were clenched at her sides as she nearly _trembled_ with rage. Oh boy, Musa's anger was flaring up again. This wasn't good.

"What's not a big deal?" I demanded. All faces turned to me. I gave the room a once over. Stella was seated on the couch, looking unnaturally quiet. Tecna was beside her, stiffer and more stony-faced than normal. Bloom and Flora sat on the other couch, both of their expressions unreadable. Oh fuck, something wasn't right. "What happened?" I demanded.

Bloom gestured toward the chair. "You might want to sit down first."

"Fuck that, just tell me what happened," I snapped.

Musa turned and stared at me with eyes burning with hatred and fury. "The police questioned Flora."

I sat down.

There was a moment of silence as I took a moment to process what I'd just heard. _The police questioned Flora._ But… _why?_ Suddenly, the only logical answer hit me. "About Candi," I said thinly. "But why?" A wave of fear washed over me. "Oh, don't tell me they think Flora had something to do with—"

"No, no!" Flora shook her head. "They didn't ask me any questions like that. They just asked a few questions about Candi specifically for more clues about her disappearance."

….

"When did this happen?" I asked coolly.

Flora bit her bottom lip. "About fifteen minutes ago."

"What I don't get is how they even knew to talk to Flora," spoke up Stella, frowning. "Flora only just recently associated herself with Candi, and there's not even any evidence to prove that."

"Flora went _everywhere_ Candi did," I pointed out, " _anyone_ in this school can tell you they were involved with each other."

"Yeah, but that wouldn't give the police a reason to question her," countered Musa, "Candi has _plenty_ of friends and they aren't getting pulled into empty classrooms by the authorities."

"The only logical explanation is that one of Candi's close friends snitched," said Tecna matter-of-factly, "Candi's best friends weren't in class yesterday, and I heard rumors about them were being down at the police station."

"That would make sense," sighed Bloom, "whenever someone goes missing, the prime suspects are always the boyfriend and the best friends. But what does that have to do with Flora?"

"It's my assumption Candi's friends might of hinted to the police that Candi had something scandalous on Flora," replied Tecna, "in an effort to steer the police off their trail, they probably gave them a list of people that could potentially be suspects."

I frowned. "Since Flora was being blackmailed by Candi, it'd be easy to assume she had something to do with her disappearance."

"Exactly."

"So you're saying they think Flora's a…suspect?" asked Stella.

"Most likely."

"That can't be true," Flora stood up, shaking her head again. "The police specifically told me I wasn't in any trouble. They just wanted some more information in hopes of getting a lead. If I was a suspect they would've taken me to the station like Candi's friends.

"Yes, you're not in trouble. _Yet_ ," said Tecna, "the case is still young. The police will probably be back to question you again in the future."

"Wait, but doesn't Flora have the right not to talk to them without a lawyer?" pointed out Musa, almost desperately.

I turned to Flora. "She's right. You should probably tell your parents—"

"No," said Flora sharply, cutting me off. "I can't tell my parents about this. I don't want them to find out about…the pictures. I don't want to disappoint them."

Bloom's eyes widened. "But Flora—"

"I said no!" Flora took a deep breath. "I appreciate you girls' concern, but everything's fine. I'm not guilty and the police don't think so, so that's that. They have no reason to interview me again. Now can we please talk about something else?"

The Winx and I shut up about it, but I knew we were all worrying on the inside. The police talking to Flora was not a good sign. Not a good sign at all.

* * *

Temptation was a bitch.

Lifting a cheap handheld fan to my face, I stared at the curtain that divided the backroom from the rest of the store with itching curiosity. It wouldn't hurt to just take one peak, would it?

It was later that afternoon—and still hot as fuck—and me, Flora, and Bloom were doing our regular duties at Trillium Moon. This shift was different, however, mainly because Andelle and Violet weren't here. They had some errands to run so they left us to man the shop in their absence. Azriel was nowhere to be found as usual, so it was just us three.

And now that Andelle and Violet were gone, I found myself fighting the urge to snoop through their sock drawer. And by sock drawer, I was referring to the mysterious backroom. From the beginning the witch sisters had made it perfectly clear it was off-limits to employees, so none of us had a clue what—or possibly who—they were harboring in there. On normal workdays, the pair disappeared back there and never resurfaced until it was time to close up. And although they were usually tucked away for hours on end, we never heard them make a sound, almost as if they'd gone to sleep or something. Whatever it was they felt the need to keep hidden from us had to be epic; otherwise why would they conceal it? Not even Azriel would give a hint as to what we were being kept in the dark about and why. It was all some big secret, one we weren't allowed to be in on. I trusted that the sisters weren't doing anything shady or evil—Bloom's instincts, the Dragon Flame, was what led us here and I was more than positive it wouldn't guide her into the hands of some closet murderer or whatever—but all this confidentiality was really getting under my skin. I'd wanted to peep into the backroom since Day 1—and now that the sisters were out of the picture I had the perfect opportunity to. So why hadn't I already?

It was because although I was nosy as hell, I still had morals. I was having an internal struggle between right and wrong, as corny as it sounded. The impulse to investigate Trillium Moon's forbidden room was nearly irresistible, but at the same time my good conscience was telling me to respect the rules Andelle and Violet had given us. It was a matter of ignoring or satisfying my curiosity and I was leaning more toward the latter. I mean, I didn't have to go IN; I could just sneak a quick look past the curtain. Andelle and Violet would never know, right?

As if she read my thoughts—or simply caught me staring—Flora stopped watering the potted plant on the counter to turn and give me a strict look. "Absolutely not," she said firmly. "Ms. Andelle and Ms. Violet trusted us to look after the store, which is a big honor considering we're only new employees. I won't allow you to betray their trust."

I looked at her and feigned innocence. "What are you talking about?"

"They probably left us alone with the store for a reason," said Flora seriously, "to test us. They want to see if we'll make like the Trix and disobey them behind their backs. Bloom and I really like it here and I refuse to let you ruin things for us."

Her tone had me taken aback for a moment. Ever since the start of the blackmail Flora had shown little to emotion, so it was surprising so get such a reaction out of her. I was so shocked, in fact, that I blinked and found myself apologizing. "I'm sorry."

She simply nodded and went back to nourishing the plants. She even started...humming? Though it was faint and not nearly as deep and passionate as it normally was, she was definitely humming, something I hadn't heard her do in weeks.

Wow. Candi had only been "missing" for three days now, and Flora was already showing signs of reverting back to her old, cheery self. That was why I didn't understand why Flora worried about the bitch so much; she was TOXIC and Flora was better off without her. For crying out loud, Candi OPPRESSED her and did not deserve her concern in the slightest. Yet, Candi and her wellbeing was all Flora thought about. Regardless of what she did to her, Flora still cared, which was both sickening AND admirable.

Me and the rest of the Wind were worried too; not about Candi but Flora. The whole police-questioning thing really raised our suspicion. It bothered the shit out of us to know Flora might be a person of interest in the case of Candi's kidnapping, but we were going to dismiss our fears for now. If Flora herself was okay with it then we were too. Besides, maybe this _was_ just a one-time thing. Maybe the authorities really _didn't_ consider Flora a suspect.

Eh, why was I trying to convince myself with that bullshit? I'd watched and read way too many shows and books about this kind of thing. When it came to these kinds of situations that involved the law, being innocent didn't mean _shit_. One could still be framed and suffer for a crime they didn't commit. Flora, who was guiltless yet so naive, failed to realize this. And to be honest, it was probably for the best. If she understood the true situation she was in she'd be scared _shitless_ right now. I just prayed the police wouldn't look into her any further so she wouldn't be forced to accept that cruel reality.

Just then my handheld fan's cheap plastic fans stopped osculating. "What the—? Oh, you had GOT to be kidding me," I whined. I tried flipping the switch to off and then on and then off and then on again, but the blades failed to spin. "Great. The battery's dead. Now I'm probably gonna die of heatstroke." And it definitely didn't help there weren't any fans or even AC in this bitch.

"Funny. I'm not hot at all," said Bloom with a shrug. Of course SHE wasn't. Duh, fairy of the Dragon FIRE. She was most likely immune to the heat.

"I'm not hot either," said Flora. And sure enough, there wasn't a drop of sweat on her skin. I on the other hand was perspiring profusely. My skin was all hot and stinky and my shirt was drenched with rings—fucking RINGS—of sweat.

"Maybe you're just dehydrated," said Bloom, eyeing me in my uncomfortable state worriedly. "I'll go out and get you something to drink." Though I knew she was offering to do so out of the kindness of her heart, I also suspected she just wanted to leave the store and stretch out her legs. Ever since we started our shift there'd legit been ZERO customers thanks to this heat wave. The inactivity had made Bloom restless and she was obviously more than anxious to get out and do something—ANYTHING. Fine by me. I wasn't trying to do SHIT in this heat.

"Yes, PLEASE," I groaned, noticing how sandpaper-dry my mouth was.

"Alright, hold tight. I'll be right back," said Bloom before slipping out of the door.

"Thank you," I called out before the door eased shut behind her. Ugh, why couldn't I be a fire fairy like Bloom? Life would've been so much easier. I wouldn't have to worry about roasting in the heat or getting third-degree burns. Plus I'd be able to burn things (and possibly people if I had to) at will.

Nahh. I was better off being a wind fairy. Besides, it'd make the Winx less unique if two people had the same power. Not to mention I'd probably become a pyromaniac—

My thoughts were cut off when the welcoming bell sounded, meaning someone had just entered the store. Flora and I both inclined our heads to greet the newcomers, and our jaws nearly dropped at first glance.

Standing at the entryway were two young women, one with hair like coal and the other like snow, who looked a little older than us and were by the two most gorgeous women I'd ever laid eyes on.

The pale dark-haired girl, who was tall and voluptuous with depthless kohl-accented spider-black eyes and full lips the color of freshly spilt blood, clearly had a thing for blood as she was clothed in it from the large, curved, velvet, badass-looking witch hat that perched atop her head of glossy bone-straight hair to the lace-up combat boots on her feet. The opening down the middle of her cape revealed an obsidian-colored jumpsuit that was paired with a belt—a belt that had a coiled whip fastened to it (oh boy. That couldn't be a good sign). Though her partner wasn't nearly as curvy and sported a simpler getup—a plain dark green dress, slate tights, and gray cowboy boots—she was just as beautiful, if not more. She was tall with grey skin, pink lips, and striking features. Her glowing hair fell down her back like a waterfall of moonlight, making me self-conscious of my own hair (which, mind was, was all weighed down and stringy with sweat). Her most distinctive feature, however, was her fearsome nails. They were long and lustrous and looked metallic—like iron. Just seeing how sharp they were made me realize how easily my soft flesh could yield to them. Though these ladies were undoubtedly stunning, there was something about their auras that was unsettling, intimidating. Like they were capable of horrible things and had no problem doing them.

Suddenly something told me these ladies weren't here to simply browse around.

The raven-haired one outright ignored her and gave Trillium Moon a judgmental once-over. "So this is what has become of the guild hall of the once-glorious White Witches of Trillium Moon," she said distastefully in a light, beautiful accent. Though she wore a calm never-faltering smile, her eyes were welling with obvious disgust as if she was displeased with her surroundings.

Flora managed to overcome her awestruck-ness first. "H-Hi. How can I help you?" she asked, her voice coming out a bit shaky as she finally found it.

Moonlight Hair's sharp eyes zeroed in on us and she took a step toward us, making me want to take a step _back_. "Where are Andelle and Violet Volreich?" she asked coolly, her voice surprisingly deep and husky in contrast to her partner's. Volreich? THAT was their last name? I didn't even know they HAD one (I mean, you can't blame me. Rainbow never bothered to officially give ANY of their characters surnames).

Flora shrunk under the woman's hard, unrelenting gaze. She was too obviously getting bad vibes from these two, meaning they were unquestionably trouble.

I managed to stop gawking and get a hold of myself, stepping in front of my friend protectively. "Who's asking?" I asked, mirroring Moonlight Hair's tone.

Her eyes bored into me and I resisted the urge to shiver. "Don't test me, fairy. Where are the matrons of the Trillium Moon clan?"

Matrons? I'd always known Andelle and Violet were part of the White Witches of Trillium Moon in its prime during the Great Witch War, but I never knew they were the head honchos. I guess that was _another_ thing they'd failed to mention.

I clicked my tongue. "Sorry, sweetheart. That's classified information." I didn't even know where Andelle and Violet were, but they didn't need to know that.

"We do not have time to play your childish games, fairy. I suggest you tell us what we want to know," advised Hat Lady with a slightly amused smirk, "or things will not end well for you."

Was that a fucking threat? Alright, so we were going there—

I shifted into my fairy form. "Come on, bitch. We can take you both."

Though reluctant, Flora followed my lead. "We were entrusted with watching over the store. We will not hesitate to fight if—"

Hat Lady aimed her pointer finger at the nature fairy and before either of us could react, a long, thick white cord shot out of her fingertip and snaked around Flora. The attack caught her by surprise and caused her to stagger backwards before losing her footing and falling, her backside colliding with the floor. "You were saying?"

I whirled around to find Flora squirming on the ground, trying to break free from the rope of spider web-like substance that had cocooned her from her torso all the way down to her knees. "It's too strong," she said hopelessly through bared teeth, fighting against her restraint to no avail.

Hat Lady gave a satisfied click of the tongue. "Of course it is. My webs are virtually indestructible."

I gritted my teeth. "You're gonna pay for that!" I spat nastily before charging at them, flapping my wings furiously.

"Acadia, no!" yelled Flora, but I ignored her.

I was coming in hot, but neither of them even flinched. The incantation to the Wondrous Wield spell was dangling on the tip of my tongue but before I could enunciate it, Moonlight Hair pointed two fingers at me and a bolt of vapor-like magic shot out of them. It came so fast I didn't have enough time to move, and it ended up hitting me. I expected the spell to hit me like a projectile and send me flying, but my body _absorbed_ it instead. What came next took place in a matter of seconds.  
First, this weird twinge of energy shuddered through me and though I tried resisting, the magic coursed through my limbs and completely overpowered me. And then suddenly, my wings felt like they were made of stone and my arms and legs felt like bags of sands were hanging from them. It felt like an avail had been placed on both of my shoulders, and it became harder and harder for me to carry my own weight to the point I couldn't even do that anymore. Overwhelmed by the sudden pressure on my body, I sunk to the ground, landing face-flat.

I tried to get up, but I felt so heavy I could just barely lift my face off the ground. It was like someone had literally stacked a few bricks on my head. "Wh-what did you do to me, you bitch?" I growled through my teeth, struggling against the invisible force that was weighing me down to no success.

Hat Lady laughed lightly. "My cousin put a curse on you. It inflicts an internal burden on her opponent, making them feel too heavy to move."

I attempted to sit up, but it was just too hard to even budge. "D-damn you! I'll—I'll—"

Suddenly, Hat Bitch was towering over me. "You'll what? Stand up and fight us? Yeah, I don't see that happening," she purred, looking down on me. She reached for her whip, but her partner intervened.

"Enough, Arachne. The fairies are irrelevant. We came here with the sole purpose of delivering a message to the Volreich sisters," she reminded impassively, proceeding further into the store.

"Arachne" scowled in return. "Those two disgraces aren't even here. They would've showed themselves by now."

"Search the store to be safe. I wouldn't put it past them to hide like cowards," said Moonlight Hair, making a course for the backroom.

Flora, who was still wrapped in Arachne's web, desperately and powerlessly writhed on the ground a few feet away from me. "No, stop!" she shouted at Moonlight Hair's backside as the sorceress approached the room we were prohibited from entering. My heart and mind raced. This wasn't good. If Andelle and Violet didn't want us to see whatever was behind that curtain, I was more than positive it went tenfold for these jokers.

Arachne groaned and relented to the order, withdrawing her hand from her belt. "Fine. You're never any fun, you know that?" Just as she was walking around me to join her cousin, the sound of the welcoming bell tore through the store abruptly as the front entrance fiercely swung open. From my vantage point on my floor, all I saw was a pair of brown boots dashing into the store. Whoever they belonged to charged at Arachne and I craned my neck around just in time to see Karel landing a blow on the bitch from behind. The crow-haired sorceress let out a strangled yelp before falling forward. She landed with a heavy _thunk,_ her hat slipping off her head as she collapsed at Karel's feet.

The teal-haired young man now had everyone's attention, including Moonlight Hair's. She spun around and set her gaze on Karel challengingly. Karel, who was unmoved by the deadly glimmer in her eyes, approached her until they stood just a few feet apart, his face just as blank as hers. "Leave this place. _Now_ ," he ordered calmly.

"You are in no position to give me orders," said Moonlight Hair coldly. She tried zapping him with a spell, but Karel evaded it swiftly. I expected Moonlight Hair to make a second attempt at the spell but much to my surprise she launched at him, readying to throw a fist.

"Watch out!" cried out Flora.

Karel knocked the punch away and before I knew it, they were engaging in a fist fight. I would've watched but my head grew too heavy for me to hold up anymore. I let it slump back to the floor, somewhat exhausted for lifting it up for so long. As I tried mustering some more strength, the sounds of Karel's and Moonlight Hair's battle rung in my ears. From the sounds of things, Karel was purposely steering his opponent away from me and Flora so neither of them would step on us. They eventually ended up on the side of the store to my right, allowing me to see them from the corner of my eye. And from what I could tell, both were clearly experienced in hand-to-hand combat. They moved with a great sense of balance and nimble footwork, allowing them to move quickly in every direction.

Moonlight Hair was landing a blow on Karel's cheek, making him stagger backward a few inches. He regained his footing only seconds later, but not before his backside brushed against a glass shelf on the wall behind him. As a result, a few of the glass vials fell off and plummeted to the floor, exploding into pools of liquid and shards. Karel, caught off-guard by this, slightly inclined his head to rearward to see what he'd knocked into. This gave his adversary an opening for a few seconds and she took the opportunity to unclench her left hand and slash at Karel with her iron nails. Her teal-haired opponent had reflexes that were just as fast and he reeled back, but not in time to fully avoid her metallic claws. They caught his shirt and ripped off a few shreds, but didn't pierce his skin. Moonlight Hair, anxious to draw blood, attempted the same attack again but it was Karel who retaliated this time. He saw the error in her footwork and used it to his advantage, hooking his foot around her ankle and yanking upward. Moonlight Hair stumbled to the ground, giving Karel enough time to correct his posture.

The white-haired sorceress jumped to her feet and locked eyes on her opponent, who maintained his bearing attentively, ready for her to strike again. I thought Moonlight Hair wouldn't hesitate to but she remained perfectly still, her back turned to me. "What is your name?" she inquired of Karel, the slimmest hint of respect in her voice.

Karel straightened, shedding his defensive stance. "Canin Whitesteel," he said, impassive still. A lie. Honestly, I didn't blame him. No way in hell would I give the bitch my real name either, not so she could hunt me down and slit my throat with those horrific nails in the middle of the night. "And yours?"

I heard her smirk. "Veronique* Gulrithius." I assumed they'd get back to fighting, but the woman did not pounce at Karel. Instead, she turned her back to him and started toward me. My heartbeat skipped a beat as she neared but much to my confusion, she went _around_ me and instead proceeded toward her fallen comrade. She hoisted her off the ground and onto her shoulders before effortlessly carrying her over to the glass door.

Wait, she was _leaving_?

"Veronique" paused and looked us all over. "This is not the last you've seen of us," she said shortly. "Tell Andelle and Violet Volreich that the Shadowmoon Clan Witches have not forgotten our clans' history and are still alive and very much a threat." The hell was that supposed to mean?

"Wait, the hell are you going? Come over here and lift this fucking spell," I barked at her, but it was too late. "Veronique" was already pushing the door open and walking out. _Fuck_ , now what was I supposed to do? Keep lying here until Andelle and Violet came back?

"Karel, are you okay?" asked Flora, her voice laced with concern.

Karel spoke with the same emotionless tone. "I am fine," he replied, scanning the store in search of something. He made a course for the alcove and reached over the counter, seizing the hunter's knife I hadn't realized was mounted on the wall until now.

"What are you doing with that thing?" I spat, eyeing him suspiciously. Sure, the guy just saved our asses and all, but we still didn't know him. Karel didn't answer. Instead, he advanced toward Flora with the weapon in hand and crouched down at her side. "If you hurt her, I swear I'll—" I started and then stopped short when I realized he was _helping_ her. Applying minimum force, Karel ran the tip of the blade down the length of the layer of spider web enveloping the nature fairy, creating a small but decent-sized tear. He then discarded the knife and ripped apart the rest of the web with his bare hands, freeing Flora. Ha, so much for being "virtually indestructible."

Flora arose and looked at her hero gratefully and I swore she was on the verge of swooning. "Thank you so much—"The door suddenly blew open, startling her and alerting Karel. His whole body tensed but then relaxed when Bloom ran in with a plastic bag. "Alright, I'm back," she was announcing, "sorry it took so—" She took one look at Karel, Flora, and then me on the ground. _"What happened?"_

Funny how people always decided to show up _after_ a fight. "Long story," I sighed. "Just do me a favor and help me up, will ya?"

* * *

This is all that damn cat's fault," muttered Andelle with an annoyed edge in her voice as Flora and Bloom swept up the last of the glass. "If he was guarding the store like he's supposed to none of this would've happened. Just wait until I get my hands on his furry little ass." It was later that evening and the Volreich sisters had returned from "running errands." I wanted to _cry_ with relief when they finally came back. Up until then I'd been seated on the stool Bloom and Karel, who hadn't left just in case he had to fend off the witches again, had lifted me up on, still feeling like a sack of a bricks. Thankfully, Violet lifted the spell with ease as Flora explained what happened.

The sisters had seemed startled when we got to the part when Veronique identified herself and the Shadowmoon clan witches. In fact, they were nearly _frightened_ until Flora clarified that Bloom hadn't been present during the attack. That calmed them down a bit, and I just now understood why: they knew Bloom had the Dragon's Flame. When I asked why it was so important whether or not Bloom was there, the sisters simply dismissed my question by insisting they were only concerned because Bloom was new to magic and wouldn't stand a chance against Veronique, but I knew better once they revealed that Veronique belonged to a witch clan called the Dark Sisters of the Shadowmoon, the rival coven to the White Witches of Trillium Moon—I honestly thought their name would be something like the Black Witches of Daffodil Sun or some shit—since before the start of the Great Witch Wars centuries ago. Out all of the clans, the Shadowmoon Witches had been the most cunning and vicious as well as desperate to get their hands on the Dragon Flame. If they'd been that hellbent on obtaining it, I doubted they stopped looking for it after the war. Imagine what would've happened if Veronique saw Bloom—if the Trix could sense her rare magic in the cartoon, Veronique would've been able to in a heartbeat and that would NOT have been good. It would've been more than easy to overpower us all and deliver Bloom to the matron of the Shadowmoon clan, who was probably the same bloodthirsty bitch who massacred dozens of _hundreds_ over the Dragon Flame all those centuries ago during the war.

And though Andelle and Violet appeared at ease now, I knew they were deeply troubled by all that occurred today. Just because we dodged a bullet today didn't mean we were in the clear. Veronique would back, and who heaven knows when. If she ever discovered Bloom's magic, she'd probably bring her _whole coven_ to Trillium Moon's doorstep. That wasn't the only issue either. If it got the Dragon Flame had been reborn in the form of a young, inexperienced fairy, we'd have way more to worry about than Shadowmoon Witches. There was a possibility practically _all_ of the ancient covens would gun for Bloom, triggering a whole new Great Witch War. And who knew what non-witch enemies would jump the bandwagon in addition to that. The Trix, who couldn't possibly stand up to the older, larger, more lethal covens, would be the last of our problems. Just thinking about it made my stomach queasy, and I chose to stop thinking about that for now.

Once we got done cleaning up the mess, Karel finally spoke up. "Forgive me for damaging your merchandise," he said somewhat sympathetically to Andelle, the first emotion I'd ever detected in his voice. "I will pay for it."

"No!" blurted Flora, jumping up. "He was only defending us, so we'll pay for it instead." This caught my _full_ attention.

GIRL, I AIN'T PAYING FOR SHIT—

Andelle simply waved away their offers. "Nonsense. All of it can easily be replaced, but the girls cannot. You protected them and for that we are in your debt. After all, they just became official members of the Trillium Moon crew today."

This surprised us. "What are you talking about?" asked Bloom, "I wasn't here to help fight the witches—"

"Not that, dear," interrupted Andelle. She winked at her. "You passed the test."

Test? What—oh. I ignored the triumphant _I told you so_ look Flora was giving me. Smartass.

While Karel stayed a little longer to talk to the Volreich sisters, the girls and I prepared to commute back to school before it got dark. When exchanged goodbyes and on our way out I paused when I realized Veronique had left behind her partner's fallen, fresh-ass hat. I lifted it off the ground and brushed the dirt off it, noticing the mint condition it was in. It'd be a shame to throw it away and let such a good hat go to waste.

That's when I got an idea.

Instead of tossing it into the garbage can, I simply tucked it under my arm and followed my friends out of the door.

Finders keepers, bitch.

* * *

 **XXX**

 ***Veronique is a witch from season 6 I thought it'd be cool to add into the story. Also, I apologize for the crappy fist-fight scene. I haven't had a lot of practice with writing physical fights.**


	25. Magic and Misfortune

**A/n: Apparently, Winx Club is getting a live-action installment on Netflix. I coincidently checked tumblr the day it was announced and everyone was freaking out about it. I, on the other hand, refuse to get my hopes up. I honestly think the show is going to be cringe. I mean, it's interesting that the show is going to be targeted towards young adults, but I don't trust that Rainbow knows what they're doing. Is Winx Club even popular enough to get a live-action adaptation? Eh, I don't know. I just hope Rainbow actually puts some effort into this. What do you guys think?**

 **A few minutes later I also found that someone posted an official promotional poster from Rainbow that included a sneak peak of Winx Club's eighth season. And all I have to say is…wow. Just wow. It only showed Flora and Bloom's new transformation and trust me, that was more than enough. Their hair is all pastel-colored now and the animation style almost looks anime-ish. It's certainly interesting, I can tell you that. I just hope the plot is decent this time; I don't really give a shit about the new  
fairy transformation. If you asked me, Rainbow made a mistake in adding more forms after Enchantix. It was clearly stated that Enchantix was the final level of fairy transformation and it should've stayed that way if you ask me. The girls can still get stronger, but I honestly don't think they need a new outfit and set of wings to show it. Does Rainbow even notice the technically made Headmistress Faragonda a liar now? She told the Winx Enchantix was the **_**last**_ **transformation, yet there's been at least five after it and Faragonda knew about each one.**

 **Eh, enough about that. I'm supposed to be fixing chapter 24 since it was so bad, but I'll do that later. I just came up with a shitload of new ideas and got super excited to continue the story. So without further ado, here's chapter 25! I hope you guys enjoy, and be sure to leave a review at the end!**

* * *

Procrastination was my trademark.

I procrastinated when it came to EVERYTHING; finishing my homework, doing my laundry, even practicing my magic. The last one made me an utter hypocrite. As obsessed as I was with magic growing up you'd THINK I'd jump at the chance to learn everything I could about it when I miraculously obtained it, but that simply wasn't the case. Yes, magic still fascinated me as much as it did upon my arrival in Magix months ago and I was more than eager to learn how to fully utilize my wind magic, but when the time came to actually practice my laziness got the better of me. Every. Single. Time.

Due to the lack of wind fairies at Alfea, there weren't any elective classes I could take to increase my knowledge/skills in wind magic so it was completely up to me to teach myself. And so far I'd barely taught myself anything (because I was lazy as fuck). I always put off my lessons for something else (and by 'something else' I basically meant hanging out with the Winx) and it was staring to take a toll on my magical journey. I only knew a handful of basic charms and about two or three wind magic spells, which was extremely pitiful. I mean, sure, I was completely knew to magic so of course I wouldn't know a variety of spells like Tecna or Flora, but BLOOM was almost doing better than me and I'd been using magic longer. True, she didn't know about her fire magic yet, but she was getting better and better at using energy attacks and deploying charms, which was more than what I could say. Apart from charms, the only spells I knew how to do were Wondrous Wind and Protection of the Wind. I knew how to do energy attacks as well, but those were literally the easiest kinds of spells to use since they were just raw power that lacked a specific function.

I needed to get my shit together and put some effort toward my studies. No way in hell did I want to get through the rest of the school year (if I was even here for that long. Though I kinda had a clue I was going to be here for a while, I never knew when I'd wake up from a night's sleep to find myself in the Real World again) on two measly spells alone and I definitely wanted to be ready for when new trouble arose. Regardless of it was a threat from the cartoon or a whole new never-before-seen evil, the Winx were destined to battle bad guys that would only get stronger and stronger the further they progressed through their adventures at Alfea so I needed to become stronger myself. That was why the next Saturday I finally overcame my laziness and geared up for a training session.

I switched into my sweats, stuffed a few water bottles and my textbook in my duffle bag, and headed out. With it being the crack of dawn on a Saturday, the dormitory was empty so it was easy to slip outside. I felt five pounds lighter the moment I stepped foot into the courtyard. There was just something so crisp and rejuvenating about morning air; it calmed my body and soul, putting me at ease and making it easier to think. Morning had always been my favorite time of day, not only for the better air quality but also for the majesty, breath-taking sky. Behind the trees was the horizon, which was streaked with deep reddish-orange that lightened to neon orange with faint yellow hues the higher you looked up. The colors bled into the fading indigo sky of night in the middle, producing stripes of wispy rose-pink that blended everything together perfectly.

The courtyard was empty too save the quirky squirrels and birds that were wandering about, relishing in the tranquility of school grounds before the rest of the student body woke up and was unleashed. I followed the concrete path that led behind the school and into the bordering forest. Rays of light from the rising sun poured through the treetops, bathing the sleeping forest in a golden glow. Besides the low chirping of the birds in the trees above and the sounds of Lake Roccaluce churning nearby, all was quiet. Perfect.

I wandered a little deeper into the forest until I found an opening in the trees that led into a small, secluded clearing. It wasn't too far away from school, from far enough so that I wouldn't be disturbed by the other students when they wandered into the forest later to do whatever the hell it was they did. Deeming it good enough, I set my bag down on an oddly shaped rock before proceeding to do a few stretches. I slowly inhaled the pure morning air as I warmed up, letting it fill my lungs and soothe my body and soul. I did this for about five minutes before I took up the textbook of magic—grimoire. "A Sorcerer's Complete Guide to Air Magic." A pretty generic name, I know, but this thing was the shit. The headmistress had lent it to me to utilize during my full time at Alfea so I could learn and grow in my elemental magic. Though I was nowhere near chapter 10 (I hadn't been lying when I said I laid off from studying), the book seemed pretty legit. At the beginning it gave a detailed overview of the history of air manipulation/magic, explaining how it came to be, when it was first used, and by whom, which I actually found pretty interesting. According to the first few chapters, my powers originated from an ancient, legendary fairy called Farcelia Wind-Bearer , who was fabled to not only be one of the first and strongest fairies in history but also a Nymph, was the first sorceress to have air powers and believed to the embodiment of the wind itself . In addition to the historical summary, the grimoire also gave thorough descriptions and lessons on wind magic/manipulation, starting from the most basic spells all the way to the most complicated. Not only that, it even gave instructions on how to perform various air-related feats, which was actually pretty cool. It explained how to do so many cool things with my type of magic but they were advanced, for wind sorcerers who had mastered all the previous techniques, exercises, and spells. And like it or not, I was only a fledgling. I was inexperienced in air magic and it was time to put on my big girl panties and start teaching myself.

I flipped straight to the page on air manipulation. See, there was a difference between it and air magic. Air MAGIC was the ability to cast different spells and feats through the energy of air. Air MANIPULATION was the ability to actually _control_ unadulterated air. Though they were technically two different things, all air-related powers in their entirety was just referred to as air magic for the sake of simplicity. I leaned more toward air spells since they were easier. Though they were useful and in no form weak, air manipulation was the art I really wanted to learn and master. It not only gave the user the power to shape/generate/control air, but it also had more diverse applications and techniques like pressure manipulation and air solidification. The skill I wanted to learn most, however, was aerokinetic flight, which allowed one to take flight by riding wind currents. Imagine that, being able to fly without transforming. I wouldn't have to rely on my wings at all. And when I did, aerokinetic flight would give me a major speed boost. But, unfortunately, I was nowhere near that level, especially when air manipulation, which was NOT my strong point, was a fundamental skill in performing the technique. I mean, air manipulation wasn't exactly _hard_ —I'd done it a few times—but it was something I kind of struggled with. You couldn't just control air like you could fire or water. It required a special process, one I wasn't a big fan of. Nevertheless, I had to man up and deal with it if I wanted to actually accomplish something.

I plopped down onto a patch of grass and folded my legs, readying to meditate. Like Iroh said to Zuko in Avatar, the Last Airbender. Air was the element of freedom. In order to learn how to control the element of freedom you had to BE free. Well, your mind anyway. The purpose of meditation was to clear the mind of all distractions and troubles or else you'd be fucked up. An inexperienced magician who tried wielding the winds without properly meditating first could suffer from headaches, migraines, or even possibly pass out so even though I wasn't a big fan of meditation, I wasn't about to take my chances.

It wasn't like I hated meditation—it was just time-consuming. That was one, if not the main, reason I hadn't practiced wind-wielding a lot; it took up a lot of time, time I would rather spend hanging out with my childhood heroes. Though I'd grown used to being around the Winx, the fact that I could interact with them in real life (I think?) never ceased to amaze me. It was literally a dream come true and I wanted to savor every moment of it instead of sitting in one place for hours at a time. But, regardless of what universe or dimension this was, there was always a time to chill and a time to work. I'd been chilling for far too long and it was time to woman up and work, even if that work required me to keep my ass in this one spot the entire day.

I inhaled more of the refreshing air and my head already begun to feel lighter, clearer. That was why I'd chosen to come out here so early; there was just something about the morning air that that soothed my mind, making it easier to concentrate. See, I struggled with stray thoughts (mental pop-ups, basically), which was a major hurdle in meditation. The light scent of morning air helped me to stabilize my mind without any stress or even effort, giving me a huge advantage in meditation.

I closed my eyes, directing my attention toward the air. A lot of people thought meditation meant stopping all thoughts, which was simply absurd. The brain was always at work, always thinking. It was impossible to stop having thoughts. No, the purpose of meditation was to sharpen your mental focus. And in my case, I had to sharpen my mental focus on the air.

I sat there, thinking of the wind and only the wind. I paid close attention to the breezes that blew through the clearing, to how they caressed my skin and made me tingle with energy. I did this for heaven knows how long; I grew so comfortable in my position and state of mind I lost perception of time. Eventually, I felt this internal clicking sensation, like something was switching on inside of me. That was a good indicator it was time to move on to the next step. I'd successfully gotten a good feel of the air, so now it was time to connect with it. And the only way to do that was through mana.

I don't think I'd ever explained this, but "mana" was the term coined to name particles of magic. It was an invisible, everlasting, and ethereal energy that was the primary source of every kind of magic in existence in the Magic Dimension. You could almost say mana WAS the Magic Dimension, as it made up everything. Everything had mana, including the wind. And it was this energy that fueled and replenished my magic. That being said, I had a special connection to the wind and that was how I was going to wield it. It was kind of hard to explain.

See, every magician was capable of channeling and controlling their unique mana, a skill my classmates and I had nearly perfected thanks to the dozens of exercises we'd taken at the start of the school year. Not only was this technique essential in magic-casting, but it was also the key to wind-wielding. Since my individual mana was derived from the wind's, the two were compatible and it was by fusing them I'd be able to harness the full power of both. And if I controlled the wind's energy, I controlled the wind itself.

I stood, focused on my inner mana, and then visualized my body emitting some into the atmosphere. Mana was an invisible energy that lacked a physical form so imagining it with one made it easier to manipulate, mainly because doing so demonstrated freedom of the mind, yet another secret to wind-wielding as mentioned earlier. I pictured my mana to be this transparent white and squiggly substance that was intertwining with similar lines of whispery-blue—the air's mana. I stood back, letting the two blend naturally all around me. Once this was done I drew some of the combined essence toward my hand. Since my energy was now merged with the air's, they both flowed toward me like a harmonious current, as one force. This force connected with the soles in my palm and I felt something circulate throughout it—air. It felt so weightless and cool, so gentle and powerful. This same sensation surged through my veins and the rest of my body, successfully joining me with the air. Now I was ready to "bend" it, which was the difficult part. The trick wasn't getting connected to the air—it was STAYING connected to it.

This was how wind-wielding worked: the practitioner united their energy with the one in the atmosphere, giving them control over air molecules. With this power, the person could change the flow of current and fashion the air into whatever shape or form they wanted whether it be a tornado or a simple gust. But in order for this to work their mana had to be laced with the air's at all—ALL times, which proved to be difficult since air's mana was naturally looser and prone to wander if it wasn't constantly being bound. If this link did not continuously exist, if the two ambient energies so much as separated in the slightest, _all_ of it would start coming undone like a domino effect, making it impossible to "airbend." That being said, I had to keep my unfaltering concentration trained on the combination consistently while at the same time try to manipulate it which wasn't easy for me since I wasn't a good multitasker.

Every time I tried pulling some wind toward me I slightly lost focus, accidentally causing my mana to start unfolding itself from the air's. And whenever I stopped to correct myself and rejoin them, I then lost focus on the current I'd been manipulating and it dissolved, forcing me to start the process all over again. I struggled with this for the longest. Whenever I got the feel of holding both manas together I tried to bending them into a current with unequal concentration on both tasks, screwing up the balance and inevitably failing at doing both.

I had no idea how long I failed miserably at this and at one point I finally gave up. There was no use in forcing myself to keep trying when it was obvious I needed WAY more practice. I decided to throw in the towel and come back out tomorrow morning. Besides, judging by how deep of a blue the sky had darkened to, I'd been out here for a good few hours and it was time to call it a day anyway. I dug my phone out of my bag and checked the time. Sure enough, it was nearly ten, meaning my training session had nearly lasted for four hours.

Right as I was packing up my shit to leave, my phone chimed with a new text from Musa.

 _Musa: Dragontail, ASAP._

Ugh, what was it now? Musa only ever told me to come over when something had gone down. But what? I bet it had something to do with Candi somehow. My whole body tensed when realization dawned on me.

Wait, could the police have come back to Alfea while I was out? I needed to get to Flora NOW.

I swung my bag over my shoulder and jogged out of the clearing. On the way back to school I spotted the most majestic owl I'd ever seen perched on a high tree branch. It had a coat of snow-white feathers that was accented with an elaborate pattern of blue markings down its backside. In between its golden eyes was an odd, swirly arctic-blue symbol I knew I'd seen before but couldn't remember where. I would've taken a picture of it, but I was in too much of a hurry to stop.

When I neared the strip of forest bordering the Alfea school grounds I spotted a FLOATING police car parked outside of the gates of the school. My heart started pounding a thousand miles a minute. So I was right. The police DID come back. I ducked behind a bush and studied the cruiser, making out the silhouettes of two officers in the front seat. They were in the middle of a conversation. While they weren't looking in my direction I straighten and emerged from behind the shrubbery and started toward the castle as casually as possible. I stared straight ahead, keeping my face relaxed like I was a normal student who was more concerned with her weekend plans than the police cruiser a few feet away. I had no idea if they even noticed me or not, but I continued to feign obliviousness to their existence until I was halfway through the courtyard and safely out of their view.

When I knew for sure they couldn't see me anymore I dropped the act and ran like hell, racing toward the dormitory.

I burst into the building and charged upstairs, not heeding the hall mistress's warning to stop running in the hall. I made it to Wing A, gliding down the hall all the way to the Winx's apartment. I barged into Dragontail, tossing my bag on the floor.

The first girl I saw was Flora, who was white as a ghost. She set on the couch, knees knocking against one another as she trembled. Bloom and Stella were on either side of the nature fairy, wrapping arms around her supportively and whispering in her ear reassuringly in an attempt to calm her nerves. "What did they ask this time?" I demanded.

"They know," said Musa, her voice wintery. "They know about the pictures."

!

I spun around on my heels and stared at her in disbelief, completely lost for words. "H-how?" I managed to stutter.

"They don't know about the pictures exactly," clarified Stella, "they just know Candi had something on Flora."

I whirled around to stare at Flora next. "What happened, Flora?" I inquired of her, trying my hardest not to sound panicky. "What did they ask you?"

Flora looked up at me with dull, defeated eyes. "I was on my way to the greenhouse when Ms. Griselda stopped me in the hall. She told me to follow her to the headmistress's office and I did." She inhaled slowly, like she willing herself to keep going. "Ms. Faragonda and two detectives were waiting for me. The headmistress explained that they wanted to ask me some more questions and that I didn't have to talk if I didn't want to—"

"Why did you?" I cut in, biting my lips as I struggled to keep my patience. It didn't make sense. If I were her I wouldn't have even entertained that shit. I would've let the authorities leave this bitch empty-handed.

"Let her tell the story, dammit," snapped Musa.

"They were the police. I couldn't just turn them down," said Flora shakily, a defensive edge in her voice. "I agreed to answer their questions and Ms. Faragonda left me alone with them. The detectives assured me they only had a few questions and that it wouldn't take long. They asked if I knew anyone who didn't like Candi or was capable of hurting her and I said no." Musa and I both snorted at that. Flora continued, "And then they wanted to know if I knew whether or not Candi knew or was involved in something that could lead someone to harm her. I said no."

"And?" I pressed.

"They changed the subject and wanted to know when I started hanging out with Candi. I gave them a date. They said that according to eye witnesses, she and I had never really interacted with each other before then, which was 'unusual.'"

My stomach started doing summersaults.

"They were curious about the terms of Candi's and I's friendship and wanted to know why and how we became friends. The question caught me off-guard and I couldn't give a straight answer." I then found myself extremely annoyed. This was what I didn't like about Flora. She was easily intimidated and didn't know how to firmly stand her ground. "When they saw how nervous I was they asked if Candi knew any of my secrets or anything that could've forced me into a 'friendship' with her."

"And you said yes," I said flatly.

"No, I denied it," responded Flora, much to my surprise. "But I think they knew I was lying."

"What did they say next?"

"They just thanked me for my time and left. I was scared stiff through the whole thing."

"This isn't good. Sooner or later they're going to find out the whole truth," said Bloom lowly.

"Maybe I just should've told them," said Flora, tears welling in her eyes. "So they would've—"

"Are you stupid?" exploded Musa, startling even me. "Flora, if they know the truth, you'll be in even bigger trouble. Think of the dates, Flora. They add up. Candi disappeared after she started blackmailing you and that could give the police the impression _you_ did something to her to get her off your back."

"But I didn't do anything!" squeaked Flora, her voice hitches like she was about to burst into tears.

"So? You think they care?" Musa fired back, "for all we know you could be _framed_. It doesn't matter what you did; if there's enough evidence that points to you then—"

"Enough, Musa," interrupted Bloom firmly. "You're scaring her." Sure enough, Flora's skin had somehow gotten paler and she looked about ready to puke all over the carpet.

Musa's face softened, guilt burning in her eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's just...Ugh, this is just a bunch of bullshit and Flora doesn't deserve it."

"Flora, things are getting more serious by the second. Please, just call your parents so they can hire a lawyer," I pleaded, "so they can _defend_ you."

"No!" the nature fairy protested. "I just...I can't, okay?"

"But you need to do _something_ ," I said desperately, "this drama just won't magically disappear. It's just gonna get worse from here."

"Yeah, especially since we have no idea what the police knows," added Stella.

"I can change that," announced Tecna. I nearly jumped, having forgotten she was even there. "I can hack their database to see what information they've acquired on the case."

Bloom's eyes bulged. "You can do that?"

Tecna looked somewhat insulted. "Of course I can. With my skills it'd be like child's play."

"Yes! I say we should go for it," said Stella, nodding. "Then we can do a little investigating of our own."

"How long will that take?" I asked, glancing at the technofairy.

"I don't know. I'm sure the police's database is highly secured with various firewalls and—"

"Then how about we call Timmy?" suggested Bloom, "he's good with computers."

"No, absolutely not. I know what I'm doing and I don't need any assistance."

"Yeah, but two's always better than one," reminded Stella, "it'll go a lot faster if you have some help. And the sooner we can get our hands on the report on Candi's kidnapping the better."

Stubborn Tecna looked like she wanted to protest again, but relented to our pleading looks. "Fine. I'll text Timmy."

* * *

"What's the emergency?"

It was about forty-five minutes later and Musa just opened the door to find Timmy standing in the hall, gravity burning in his eyes behind the lenses of his crooked glasses. "Timmy, hi. Thanks for coming on such short notice," said Musa gratefully, quickly ushering him inside before someone spotted him. Having a guy—especially one who wasn't related to you by blood—in the dormitory without a staff-member chaperon was a serious offense to Alfea's rules and we'd get in serious trouble if we were caught. How Timmy somehow managed to sneak past the hall mistresses-who, mind you, were actively on duty ESPECIALLY on weekends—without getting caught was beyond me. Apparently, he was stealthier than he looked.

"It's no problem. I came as soon as Tecna sent me that text," said Timmy, advancing into the room with a black canvas messenger bag on his shoulder. Musa was about to close the door but a big-ass sneaker appeared in the threshold out of nowhere, preventing her from doing so. My first thought was that we'd gotten busted already, but I immediately calmed down when Brandon (Sky) came in next.

"Brandon? You came too?" asked Bloom, perking up at the sight of everyone's favorite blond (sorry Stella).

Brandon (Sky) managed a tight, strained smile as he trudged inside with his shoulders slouched and hands stuffed in his pockets. "Hi." Okay, someone was obviously feeling down in the dumps. Bloom knew it too judging by how she dropped her smile, but didn't press the subject.

After making sure no other Specialists were waiting to pop out, Musa gently shut the door. "Remember, we have to be quiet," she reminded in a hushed tone, "or else Ms. Nikolaeva will catch us." Like she even had to say it. No one had time to be put on detention for three weeks.

"What, Prince Sky didn't want to come say hi?" asked Stella from the couch, giggling at the thought of the "prince."

Brandon (Sky) just shrugged. "I think he's staying with one of his girlfriends this weekend." That wiped the smile right off Stella's face.

"Hey Timmy, we didn't happen to wake you up, did we?" asked Flora, who had calmed down a little, giving a Timmy a once over with guilt-ridden eyes. Well, that was a dumb-ass question. The nerd's chestnut hair was sticking out at odd angles and he was literally wearing a pair of pajamas pants with his size-too-big sweatshirt. It looked like dude had been UNDER the bed before we called.

"Not at all. I've been up for hours. Now what's going on?" he asked, automatically proceeding over to Tecna, who was already in the hacking process. She was seated on the other couch, impassively operating the digital screens her little gadget on the table was projecting. For hacking the police to be "child's play", the fairy of technology had been at it for nearly a good hour now. Turned out she needed more help than she let on.

"Okay, so what we're about to ask you is extremely illegal," I warned, folding my arms across my chest. "And will possibly earn you a one-way ticket to jail if you're caught."

"You want me to hack something," inferred Timmy casually, already setting his bag down and unzipping it. He came prepared, having brought along an assortment of wires and electronic devices.

" _Help_ hack something," corrected Bloom, cutting a quick glance at Tecna as if to make sure she hadn't been offended. The magenta-haired fairy continued to stare at her virtual screens blankly.

"Yeah. Tecna here's been trying for nearly an hour now and hasn't made any progress," said Stella nonchalantly, earning a sidelong glare from the fairy.

"It's just taking longer than I thought it would," insisted Tecna, frowning deeply. "The database is highly encrypted, _too_ encrypted to be normal tech. The authorities must've hired computer scientists from Zenith to improve their software."

"They _did_ just have a major security breach last year," reminded Timmy, totally cool with the fact Tecna just admitted to being in the midst of breaking into an police data system as if it was an everyday occurrence. For him it probably WAS. "So they had to upgrade their tech to stop further hacks. That can't stop ME, of course." He took out an advanced-looking handheld device and plugged the cord into the back of Tecna's gadget.

Now that their tools were linked, his gizmo projected a holographic screen similar to Tecna's. "Okay, let's see what we're working with here," he mused, taking a seat on the floor and getting to work. He and Tecna immediately launched into tech talk that threatened to melt my brain as their fingers flew across their screens, drifting into their own private little world that included algorithms, binary, and lots and lots of algorithms.

While they did that, Bloom took notice of Brandon (Sky), who was hovering in the background with a distant look on his face. "Is something wrong, Brandon?" she finally asked, inching toward him.

"Hm?" Brandon (Sky) snapped out of whatever daze he'd been in and lifted his head, looking around confusedly as if he'd momentarily forgotten where he was. "Oh. Yeah."

"Sure doesn't look like it to me," said Musa matter-of-factly, putting her hands on her hips. "What's the deal?"

Brandon (Sky) looked reluctant to talk. He probably would've brushed the question off if Musa's eyes hadn't been boring into him so inquisitively. "It's my home world," he admitted at last, releasing a heavy sigh. "There's been this small band of rebels who've been going against the crown for years now. They launched a surprise attack on one of the king's ports yesterday while a shipload of resources from Andros was being delivered."

"Wait, I think I saw that on the news," recalled Musa, her eyes widening.

"Yes. It was a coordinated ambush. Rebel spies somehow obtained confidential information about Eraklyon's deal with Andros and used it to their advantage. They assaulted the unsuspecting guards that were in charge of unloading the ship and easily slaughtered most of them. Then they seized the ship and destroyed most of the cargo. According to Prince Sky, by the time his father sent men to investigate the missing shipments the rebels were long gone."

"Ah, so that's it. Prince Sky must be on his home planet sorting this out with the king, not messing around with some girl," said Stella, slight satisfaction lacing her voice. We all shot her fierce glares and when the blond finally realized she'd said that aloud, her whole face went red and she suddenly sounded very sympathetic. "I mean, that's terrible. Why would anyone want to do such a thing?" I kinda had a clue. From the little screen time he had in the cartoon, it was a known fact the King of Eraklyon was a textbook asshole. And though I wasn't justifying the rebels' actions, I could somewhat understand why they'd rebel against him.

Brandon (Sky) shrugged. "They've lead a small series of attacks here and there but nothing this major. This could lead to some serious problems." He didn't have to say what they were because in a way we all already knew. Those "problems" were only just one, and that was war.

Flora touched Brandon's (Sky's) shoulder gently. "I'm so sorry, for both you and Prince Sky. I hope what happened doesn't escalate to anything worse." Innocent, naive Flora. Brandon (Sky) just nodded but didn't look convinced.

"Alright, we're almost in," announced Timmy, "we just need to get intercept the final firewall." That was a cue to drop the subject and gather around the two tech wizards. We all watched as Timmy and Tecna worked their computer magic, swiping across the screens and inputting in all codes. When they were finally finished, large loading bars took up all the virtual monitors. "Here we go. The moment of truth," said Timmy as the loading bar slowly moved to the right. "Processing, processing..." The bar started to buffer, making all of us draw in sharp breaths. It stayed frozen for a minute before speeding up, loading completely and triggering a whole new set of complicated-looking windows to pop-up. "We're in!" exclaimed Timmy triumphantly.

"Shhh!" we all hissed at him.

"Sorry," he squeaked, faint pink splotching his cheeks as he adjusted his glasses.

"We've successfully broken into the database of the Magix City Police Department," said Tecna, opening one of the files. "Now I have full access to all their information. I'll take it from here, Timmy." There was a flash of emotion across her face for a split second as she added, "Thank you."

Musa flashed a grin at the Specialist. "Yeah, thanks Timmy. This means a lot."

Timmy tried to hide his blush as he disconnected from Tecna. "It's no problem."

Brandon (Sky) glanced over at the creepy cat-shaped wall clock Flora swore on her life was cute. "If you guys are done we should be leaving, Timmy. We have a dragon-training exercise later on today and Codatorta will kick our asses if we're late."

"Shoot, I completely lost track of time!" he panicked, sloppily stuffing the rest of his equipment back into his canvas back and shooting to his feet. "Sorry girls but we gotta go. Just call if you need anything else, okay?" After exchanging rushed goodbyes, Timmy and Brandon (Sky) slipped out of the Winx's apartment. Hopefully they wouldn't get spotted on their way out or I'D kick their asses.

"Okay, I found the file on Candi," said Tecna, shifting our attention back to the task on hand.

"Wow, that was fast," commented Musa, slipping onto the seat beside her.

"It wasn't hard to find. It was the most recent log since Candi's case is what the authorities are mainly focusing on," said Tecna, effortlessly sorting through the data. She pulled up several windows that were detailed with words writing in Basic. "Here are the police reports. Everything we need to know is at our fingertips." She pulled a memory stick out of nowhere and plugged it into her device. "I'm downloading it all to a hard-drive for later reference."

"Wait, won't the police we able to tell you hacked their files?" I asked, narrowing my eyes suspiciously. We _soooo_ didn't need them coming back up here anytime soon.

"Don't worry. Timmy and I scrambled our IP addresses through a series of proxies. Leaving behind tracks is an amateur mistake."

"Wow, there are so many files," stated Bloom, "where should we start?"

"How about the suspect list?" suggested Musa, "we obviously already know Flora's a person of interest, but let's see who else the police are keeping tabs on." Tecna nodded and opened the desire document. When it appeared onscreen Musa leaned in a little closer to read it. "Wow. This list is kinda long."

"OBVIOUSLY. Look at the kind of person Candi was," I pointed out, peering over her shoulder. "There are literally _dozens_ of people who could've had it in for her. Look, even her PARENT'S names are up there."

"Hold on a minute." Musa scrolled down the page. " _Your_ name is up there too."

I thought I misheard her for a second. _"What?"_

"Look." Musa pointed toward the bottom of the column and sure enough, my name was written there. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK? I was a suspect too? How was that even possible? Musa tapped on my name, which directed us to another report, though this one was way smaller. "Apparently, one of Candi's friends heard you make a 'death threat' against her," said Musa after skimming through the provided info.

"Death threat? What fucking death threat?" I spat, truly pissed. Suddenly, one of my last words to Candi rang through my head.

 _"You're going to_ be _a ghost if you don't stay the hell out of my way."_

I bit my tongue and clenched my fists. "One of Candi's goons must've overheard the warning I gave Candi the day we found out she had Flora's pictures."

"But they can't prove she actually said that," pointed out Stella, wrinkling her nose.

Musa frowned. "She's the senator's daughter, remember? They can't afford to overlook anything,"

Oh great. Now whenever the police came to Alfea again, there'd be a good chance they'd come looking for _me_ instead.

Tecna was silently reading from a separate file on a different screen. "They have yet to find a body, which means they can't rule her disappearance a murder." After a little bit more reading, she said, "Wow. They haven't even found any physical clues. They investigated all the locations Candi was last seen that day but have found nothing. It's like she just disappeared off the face of the planet."

"Maybe she did," shrugged Bloom. "It's not that hard to travel between worlds. She could've just run away from home or something."

"If that was the case I'm sure they would've found her by now," said Flora quietly.

"Oh no. That isn't good," Tecna vacantly remarked at whatever she'd just read next.

That caught all of our attentions. _"What isn't?"_ we all demanded.

"It says here the police attempted a locator spell to find the missing person," she answered. "And it failed."

There was a moment of silence.

" _What_ does that mean exactly?" asked a confused Stella, voicing the question that was on all of our minds.

"From my knowledge, there are only three reasons a locator spell could possibly fail," answered Tecna, "it could've been cast improperly—which I'm sure isn't the case since the police force only recruits the best magicians—the target is somehow evading the magic, or the target themselves is _dead_."


	26. Hi There, Stranger

**A/n: Today marks the 10** **th** **chapter since the last one I posted all the back in 2016. Time sure does fly. You know, I'm actually thankful I had this story on hiatus for so long. Had it not been for that break my eyes never would've been opened to the true potential of the story. Originally, when I was writing the story back in 2016, I intended for every chapter to be a half-assed spinoff of every episode in the first season. I was being lazy and never truly aimed to rewrite the storyline. Though that was easy, it was also boring. That's why I quit writing for the rest of 2016 and most of 2017; it was getting dull and extremely tiresome clicking through the episodes, finding the transcripts, and copying nearly word-for-word. Because of this, I never planned on finishing this story or even going past chapter 16. Time went on and I deliberately ignored this story. But then, toward the end of 2017, I got into fantasy fiction and my eyes were opened.**

 **I admired how all the authors conveyed magic and their unique supernatural settings, how they brilliantly blended their ideas and literary elements to create the perfect storylines that kept the reader both intrigued and entertained. And I thought to myself: why can't I do this? Why did I have to copy the episodes? Why couldn't I be creative and put my** _ **own**_ **spin on the storyline? I then started to slowly but steadily take interest in Winx Club and this story again. I even got into the comics, which, in my case, have almost proven to be better than the actual show itself. Oftentimes the plots in the comics are more mature and well-written and the secondary characters introduced are far more diverse than the ones in the cartoon (and actually serve a purpose!). Again, I thought to myself: what would be the result if someone was to merge the elements of both the cartoon and comics? That gave me even more ideas, even more motivation to resume** _ **O Wondrous Wielder of the Winds.**_

 **And THEN, just recently in fact, I found myself analyzing the cartoon and though I'd been watching Winx Club for years now, I discovered things I hadn't noticed until now. Winx Club was fairly flawed. Though the show was amazing (only the first three seasons in my opinion) there were so many things the writers didn't elaborate on, so many things they turned a blind eye to, so many things they didn't handle correctly. I legit have a list called "everything about Winx Club that bothers me" and it's what I'm using to rewrite the plot. I want to write something BETTER than the creators, I want write something they couldn't in a million years (unless they hire better storywriters.) That's why I took up this story again and will finish it, better than ever.**

 **I have no idea why I just told you all that. Maybe I just needed to get it off my chest. Anyways, here's chapter 26. Hope and you all enjoy, and don't forget to leave feedback at the end! TYSM!**

* * *

"Bullshit!" exploded Musa as Flora's face sheeted white.

My breath got caught in my throat and I choked on it. " _Dead_?" I managed to spit out, completely dumbfounded. "Are you sure?" A nod from Tecna made my head spin.

"But wait, that can't be right," protested Bloom, shaking her head. "If a locator spell's supposed to find the target's body, wouldn't it still find her remains?"

"Unless they were destroyed completely," I pointed out, my mouth going Sahara dry. "Like someone incinerated them." Beside me, Flora let out a strangled gasp. I didn't blame her; the gruesome thought of someone murdering a teenage girl—no matter how vile—was just horrifying. Even worse, what if they burned her _alive_? I shivered and swallowed the lump in my throat, trying hard to not imagine what it'd be like to spend your last moments in scorching, blistering pain.

"That isn't how a tracking spell works. Spells intended to find living things detect and follow the target's specific mana signature," explained Tecna, "a corpse doesn't emit mana, rendering the spell unsuccessful. Based off the data in this report, Candi's most likely—"

"Maybe Candi's just evading the spell," cut in Flora, desperate to hear anything but that. "You said that could be a reason it failed."

"Yes, but I highly doubt it," a matter-of-fact reply from Tecna as she scrolled through the files onscreen. "In order to resist a tracking spell, the target must enchant themselves with a cloaking spell more powerful than it. This is impossible in Candi's case; she's just a freshman at Alfea, an amateur magician who's completely incapable of casting a spell that's strong enough to counter the magic of a professional on the police force."

"Okay, so maybe someone _else_ is cloaking Candi," I suggested. "Maybe someone powerful—more powerful than any sorcerer in the police department—kidnapped her and is using their magic to keep her off the radar." I mean, look at Faragonda, Griffin, and the Volreich sisters. I was more than positive their magical powers trumped the authorities' and that were dozens of _hundreds_ of other skilled magicians just like them out there. Take the Shadowmoon Clan witches, for example. To be Trillium Moon's rival clan, they had to be strong. One of them could've easily ambushed Candi and concealed her presence with a spell. Depending on the witch, doing so could even be child's play.

Tecna confirmed my theory as a possibility.

"And what about distance?" spoke up Stella, putting her hands on her hips. "Doesn't that have something to do with the range of locator spell or something?"

"Actually, Stella, it does," replied Tecna, sounding vaguely surprised that the blond actually used brainpower to make a valid point. "Depending on the strength of the caster, a tracking spell can only go so far. The Magic Dimension is full of different realms and planets, but it's my guess the spell only reached the ones neighboring Magix."

"So Candi could've just ran off to someplace outside the spell's limits," said Musa, calming down. She snorted. "Probably with one of her secret boyfriends."

"That's impossible," supplied Tecna, tapping the holographic screen and launching a new window beside the one she'd been reading from. "The teleportation portals that link the worlds are heavily— _heavily_ monitored and cannot be utilized without proper authorization. According to what the detectives wrote in this report, they got special permission to view the portals' activity logs. Candi didn't show up in any."

"So she didn't get off Magix via portal. That doesn't rule out the possibility she could've left by airship," argued Musa.

"Yes, but that would take much longer. And, mind you, the police attempted the locator spell not even two days after it was announced she was missing. If Candi deliberately tried to leave the realm on an aircraft she wouldn't have got out of the spell's radius in time."

Silence engulfed the room as everyone let this sink in.

Based on the information Tecna just gave us, there were only two conclusions we could draw about Candi's disappearance, two ugly truths we had to come to terms with: either Candi had been kidnapped by an insanely powerful magician or she really was dead. Either possibility wasn't going to make things any easier for us. For Flora.

"So...what do we do now?" asked Stella at last, glancing between us uncertainly as she fiddled with a lock of hair.

"Nothing. We can't do anything," replied Flora gloomily, her head hanging in both defeat and despair. Judging by how crumpled her face was, she had officially lost all hope. It showed in her eyes, in her posture. The way she sat reminded me of a dead houseplant: wilted and lifeless, the complete opposite of how a nature fairy was supposed to be. Seeing her in this state just made me...ugh, I couldn't even describe how pissed and frustrated I was. This was _Flora_ ; for fuck's sake, she was supposed to be sanguine, not sulky. Hope _ful_ , not hope _less._

I happened to glance over at Musa to find she looked even more miserable than Flora. And for the first time since this drama started, I didn't have a shred of sympathy for her. Instead, something else swelled in my chest: hate. It wasn't much; just a kernel, but it was definitely there. And it made me start seeing things in a different light, _Musa_ in a different light.

It was HER who'd been so insecure about herself, so in denial about her feelings for batshit crazy Riven.

It was HER who played right into Candi's hands, her trap.

It was HER who Flora was suffering for.

This was HER fault.

This whole time I'd been trying to convince her otherwise, trying to save a sliver of that damaged ego. Fuck that; now that I thought about it, I couldn't believe I'd been feeding her that bullshit. Couldn't believe I'd been pinning all the blame on Candi—even though that bitch was 90.18% at fault—when this was partly Musa's doing. If she hadn't been so fucking self-conscious about her feelings for Everyone's Favorite Asshole, if she hadn't been so hell-bent on looking tough and just dropped the act for a second to get her head on straight, to _think_ straight, none of this would've happened. Maybe then we'd be out on the town enjoying our weekend right now instead of staying cooped up in here giving ourselves headaches.

Musa caught me staring and our eyes locked. We held each other's gaze for a moment and I wondered if my eyes reflected my emotions, if they gaze her any insight into how I felt about her at the moment. They must have because when Musa finally turned away she avoided looking in my direction again.

Whatever. I didn't give a damn about her right now anyway. No, now was the time to focus on Flora. "Don't say that." I found myself blurting. There had to be _something_ we could do. For crying out loud, this was the _Winx Club_. I grew up watching Winx Club and the thing I'd always loved most about my childhood heroes was their determination. They never chose to give up and nothing—NOTHING held them down for long. They always overcame every obstacle that presented itself regardless of how big or complicated and I refused to believe now would be the exception.

"Maybe we could try the spell ourselves?" suggested Stella.

Tecna snorted at her ignorance. "Are you crazy? That's one of the most advanced spells to learn. The chance of someone with our level of experience successfully casting one is—"

"Okay, we get it, Tecna" interrupted Musa, wrinkling her nose in annoyance "We already know the odds are against us. No need to throw it in our faces and get us even more depressed."

"I'm not trying to make anyone depressed," insisting Tecna impassively, "I'm only simply stating the facts. There's no point in deluding ourselves into thinking we can accomplish things that are outside our expertise."

An idea popped into my mind. "Then how about we go to someone who _is_ capable of casting the spell? Like Faragonda," I said. "I'm pretty sure she has to be a master of magic to be the headmistress of this school."

Stella brightened. "Oh yeah, the headmistress! I completely forgot about her. All we have to do is ask her to—"

"No, we can't," interjected Flora firmly, surprising us all. "If we go to the headmistress for help she'll make us explain how we know what we know. If she finds out we broke into the police's database, that we did something _illegal,_ we could all get expelled. You guys have already gone through enough trouble as it is; I won't let you get kicked out of Alfea because of me." My heart dropped. She _still_ thought she was too blame?

"And besides, it'd cause way too many legal issues if the headmistress got involved in the case," added Tecna.

"The Volreich sisters," said Bloom suddenly. "We can go to them for help."

Musa whipped around fast. " _Who?"_

I facepalmed. "Why didn't I think of that?" DUH. Centuries-old witches who'd been practitioners in magic nearly all their lives.

"The two ladies who own Trillium Moon, the place where Flora, Cadey, and I work," explained Bloom. "They can try the spell. I know for a fact they're stronger than anyone on the police task force." Stella and Musa exchanged uneasy glances. "Don't worry, we can trust them," assured Bloom, rising to her feet. "We have to go to them for help; it's our only option."

I swallowed the jump in my throat. "And our only hope."

* * *

"You give the fools at MCDP too much credit," insisted Andelle distastefully, shaking her head in disgust. "They couldn't cast a spell good enough to find a set of keys, no less a missing person." Not that long later (and after a quick lunch break), the girls and I found ourselves seated around the Volreich sisters in the heart of Trillium Moon. The sisters had closed the shop for an early lunch break the second we all appeared in the doorway, as if they sensed we'd arrived in grave need of their assistance. They'd listened attentively as we explained most of the situation, deliberately leaving off the specific details about the blackmail and the part where Tecna and Timmy hacked the police and unlawfully obtained their information. With this being their first trip to TM, Tecna, Stella, and Musa had been a little dubious about the witch sisters in the beginning, but they were already starting to grow accustomed to them and the shop's welcoming, non-evil atmosphere (and talking cat). Stella was even checking out their assortment of potions, apparently more interested in concoctions that could erase pimples than the task at hand.

Violet nodded. "We've collaborated with them in the past," she explained, "they were completely unprofessional and had the magic experience of a ten-year-old." My chest loosened a bit. Sure, it was pretty sad to hear how shitty and unreliable the authorities were, but it was reliving at the same time. If they truly were that magically inferior, then there was a good chance they did the tracking spell incorrectly and Candi wasn't dead.

Azriel snorted from his lazy perch on Flora's lap. "Don't insult them like that."

I glanced at him. "The police?"

"The ten-year-olds."

Tecna didn't look convinced. "When was this?" she inquired of Andelle.

"Fifty years ago."

My heart dropped. Fifty years was more than enough time for the police to get their shit together. There was even a possibility they were never as inexperienced as Andelle and Violet let on. Remember, the pair once fought in a war against the deadliest covens in all of Magix so there was a good chance they were just holding MCDP to unfairly high standards, as they had a different definition of strong. Maybe they _hadn't_ made a mistake.

Defeat must've been written all across my face because Violet said, "Don't look so gloom. There is still hope. Andelle and I have mastered all the tracking spells in the book, and we would be more than glad to aid in finding your friend." I tried not to wince at "friend." Though Andelle and Violet had no idea we would never dream of being friends with Candi—otherwise our desperation to find her would look suspicious—but I couldn't help but feel a bit insulted. I wasn't alone, either. Out of the corner of my eye I spied Musa trying not to gag.

Bloom brightened. "Really? Thank you so much!" I too felt a flicker of hope. "How can we help?"

"In order for a locator spell to work we'll need something that has strong traces of the target's mana signature," explained Violet, "like one of her personal possessions. Once we have this, the most vital part of the spell, everything else will be a pushover."

I shot off my stool excitedly. "Then it's settled. We'll run back to Alfea, grab something out of Candi's room, and—"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple," announced Tecna. I tried not to look irritated at her habit of killing the mood. "We can't just stroll in Candi's room."

I blinked. "Yes, we can."

"Not without consequences. Candi's side of the room is under investigation for clues, so the police most likely rigged it with runes that will prevent any unauthorized individuals from entering. And even if that's not the case and we did have unrestricted access to Candi's room, they still have advanced equipment that can detect our lingering mana trail in the air even days later. Either way they'll know we snooped through her belongings and might consider us persons of interest in her disappearance."

Ugh, damn it.

Andelle simply waved away the tecnofairy's comment away. "Don't worry; there are cloaking spells to get around this. Runes like those are triggered by mana; they permit access to ones they recognize, prohibit ones they don't. There's a certain charm that conceals mana and therefore would allow you to enter without activating any of the runes embedded in the floor or leaving evidence of trespassing. However, the charm only lasts for a short time. If we were to enchant you with one now it would have already worn off by the time you make it back to Alfea. You would need to be enchanted at the school, giving you just enough time to get what you need and get out before the magic subsides."

Flora frowned. "That's definitely a problem. You two are the only ones capable of casting a spell like that, but it's not like we can just bring you back to school with us."

I groaned, shoulders dropping. "There's always a catch."

"And a solution," added Violet, "though he doesn't look it, Azriel is a master magician and can perform the spell in our place. It would be easier to get him inside Alfea—"

"I will do no such thing," interrupted Azriel firmly, sitting up. "I'm not your little lapdog."

"Actually, you are," countered Andelle, narrowing her eyes. "We have a contract. You have to do as you're told unless you want the hellhounds to come nipping at your heels." It made sense that Andelle and Violet made a contract with the demon (however that works), but the fuck were hellhounds? Whatever they were they had to be no joke because Azriel didn't protest further.

"Alright, so it's decided. We'll take Azriel to Alfea so he can use the cloaking charm to help us get into Candi's room" said Bloom, standing up as well. "We'll grab what we need and run back in no time."

"There's just one little problem," piped up Musa. We all turned to her. "How are we supposed to smuggle a demonic cat into school?"

* * *

Easy: through Stella's overpriced, oversized handbag.

Though he hissed and scratched and threatened to consume our souls in the process, we managed to force Azriel's furry frame into Stella's purse to find he fit inside perfectly. He was nothing but a headache the whole way back to Alfea but, mercifully, quieted down when we crossed over onto school grounds. I felt Griselda's beady little shark eyes lock onto us the second we entered campus, but I pretended like I didn't notice. I fought the urge to shiver under her hard gaze as she watched us like a hawk, her eyes following our every movement and boring into us like she saw straight through us, like she knew we were in the midst of some kind of scheme. I half-expected her to storm over and demand what we were up to, but, thankfully, she remained on the other side of the courtyard. We feigned casualness all the way to the dormitory, where we all released sighs of relief once we were safely out of Griselda's sight.

We raced upstairs and burst into the Winx's apartment, closing and locking the door behind us. Azriel nearly _flew_ out of Stella's purse when she finally opened it. He landed on all fours nimbly, tail erect as he scowled up at us from the carpet. "The next time you try to shove me into that dreadful thing, mortals, I'll slit your throats." He huffed. "And if you really insist on toting me around like some kind of toy puddle, at least have the decency to do it in something more fashionable."

I eyed the blond's purse, an undoubtedly expensive tote crafted of golden leather that had a pattern like armadillo skin. "The purse _is_ kinda ugly, Stella." I felt bad for the exotic creature that had to die to make it (because we all knew that was how the rich rolled. Hunting down and butchering rare animals all for the sake of a purse or a pair of heels they'd most likely only wear once).

" _Ugly?_ " repeated Stella, insulted. "I'll have you know—"

"Who cares about the purse," cut in Musa, wrinkling her nose. "Let's cut the bullshit and do what we came to do." Well, _sorry_. _Someone's_ impatient.

Bloom agreed. "Yes. The sooner we get this done the sooner we find out where Candi is."

" _Probably_ find out where Candi is," corrected Tecna. "We don't know if the witches' attempt will be successful." I saw a flicker of worry in Flora's eyes and I bit my tongue to refrain from snapping at Tecna.

"Yes, yes. Let's get on with it," said Azriel as he stretched out, already bored. His nose twitched. "I'm not too fond of the smell of teenage girl. Or rabbit." His gaze shifted over to the doorway leading into Flora's and Bloom's doorway, where Kiko was literally cowering at the sight of the demon cat. Oh man, Kiko! I forgot all about his furry little ass, even though he legit almost went everywhere with Bloom. Speaking of Bloom, she went over to scoop up her childhood companion and shot Azriel a glare that totally said, _Don't you even think of eating my bunny_.

Azriel just rolled his gorgeous eyes. "Wouldn't dream of it. I find that domesticated animals taste like antifreeze." Kiko looked about ready to pass out in Bloom's arms and I didn't blame him. The demon cat just released a cute little yawn, dismissing the blue rabbit entirely. "Enough about me. Let's get on with it, shall we? Who all's playing amateur sleuth?"

We all exchanged looks. "I'll do it," offered Flora. "I've been in Candi's room enough to know where she keeps her things."

"I'll go with her," I said, careful not to let my excitement show. Getting entrance to Candi's lair was just what I needed to turn this whole situation around. Think about it: if I had access to her room, I had access to her STUFF as well. Who knew what juicy things I could find if I looked in the right places. Maybe I'd find a clue about her disappearance, or, even better, something I could use to blackmail her with later, like a diary or nudes (a slut like Candi was guaranteed to them).

Much to my dismay, Musa stepped forward. "Me too." She tried to catch my eye but I pretended to not notice.

Azriel's whiskers twitched. "Anyone else?"

Bloom shook her head. "The rest of us will be on lookout."

Azriel made a sound of indifference before mumbling a quick, incompressible incantation to a spell. I felt his magic shoot down my spine before dissolving into the rest of my body. "There. It's done," he said sluggishly, "the clock's ticking so I suggest you be on your way." He leapt up on the couch. "I'll be taking a nap in the meantime."

That was when I noticed some kind of glowing mark on the back of my palm. Flora and Musa had it on theirs too. "What's—"

"That mark's an indication of how much longer the charm will last," said Azriel before I could finish, "when it starts flashing that means the spell is close to wearing off."

Flora nodded. "Right. Thank you." We started for the door, but Tecna hopped in our path.

"Wait," she said, "let me test the spell's effectiveness first." She brushed a hand across her face, summoning one of her futuristic visors. She stared at us through its holographic lens, no doubt using her gadget to analyze us. "Amazing. They aren't showing up on my scanners," she said. "Almost like they aren't even there."

Azriel snorted. "Of course your little doohickey can't see them. It detects mana and theirs is shielded."

"We're good to go then," said Musa. "Now let's hurry. We don't have much time."

OoO

Much to our benefit, the halls weren't nearly as crowded as they had been earlier since it was late afternoon, almost evening; everyone was either getting ready to go out on the town tonight, doing some late-day cramming, or still sleeping in. Because of this, most of the hall mistresses had called it a day, letting us slip through the dormitory without drawing unwanted attention. When we made it to the wing where Candi's room was located, Bloom (with Kiko) and Stella took positions on either end of the hallway to watch out for anyone coming this way. Tecna was stationed in a separate corridor monitoring the entrance to the wing.

Candi's room was one of the only stand-alone rooms—basically a room that didn't belong to an apartment—making things even easier for us. Flora reached for the doorknob, but I stopped her. "What if her roommate's in there?" I pointed out.

"She's not. She's hardly ever in because she can't stand Candi. Besides, she has a club meeting around this time."

I nodded and Flora eased the door open, walking right in afterward. Musa and I followed, cautiously aware of the unknown territory we were entering. Like the rest, the room was split into halves, and they were different and night and day. The left side obviously belonged to a goth; all black-on-black with reoccurring bat and skeleton themes, creepy decorations—there was even a coffin against the back wall—and weird paintings of half decayed-looking women drooling black blood. The right side, however, was its polar opposite and looked like my baby sister had designed it. For starters, EVERYTHING was pink; pink bed set, pink dresser, pink curtains, pink rug, pink wall accents. And whoever owned it clearly had a fetish for stuffed animals; there was an epidemic of plush bears and bunnies lining every shelf, every surface; hell, there were about ten on the bed alone.

I smirked, starting for the left side. "Ha. I knew Candi was a closet emo."

"Actually, _this_ side is Candi's," said Flora, going to the right. "Her dad designed her room. He still thinks she's a little girl." What the…? As cold-hearted as she was, you're telling me the bitch had a soft spot for shit like Care Bears?

Musa rolled her eyes. Of course Daddy Dearest wouldn't know his precious little angel is actually a cold-hearted slut."

"Who cares. Let's just snatch something and scram," I said, crossing over onto Candi's portion of the room.

Musa eyed a necklace on top of the dresser. "How about this?" she suggested, gesturing toward it.

"No," I said. "We can't take anything that's out in the open or someone might notice it's missing—" I opened Candi's closet and found myself staring into another pair of eyes. "HOLY FUCK!" I shouted, leaping backward.

Hiding among Candi's clothes was none other than Mi Sun, who gave me an awkward smile. "Um, hi?"


	27. A Strange Turn of Fate

**A/n: YES! 95 story follows, meaning I'm only 5 away from one hundred! This is a big deal for me considering most Winx Club fan fictions, especially ones featuring OCs, from unpopular writers like me don't usually get that far. And to make things even better, my amount of story alerts has** _ **doubled**_ **since I came back from hiatus at the end of last year. At chapter 16 I had about 40 favorites and 46 follows. Skip up to chapter 26, only** _ **ten**_ **chapters later, I'm at 91 favorites and 95 follows. I can't even explain how special this makes me feel. Thank you guys so much for all the support! I can't wait until we hit 100!**

* * *

"Cadey, not so loud," scolded Flora in a hushed tone, giving me a lecturing look. "Someone in the rooms next door might hear and get suspicious."

I ignored her. "Mi-Sun, what the hell were you doing hiding in Candi's closet?" I demanded as the small Korean-looking girl scampered out of the closet. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Musa's eyes bored into Mi-Sun. "Who the hell are you? And what are you doing in here?"

Mi-Sun started to fidget, refusing to meet our gazes. Upon seeing how nervous the girl was, Flora's face softened with sympathy. "Girls, calm down. You're scaring her," she said gently.

I ignored her again. "How did you even get in here?" I asked my roommate impatiently, my voice stony. "Why are you even here?" My eyes swelled. "Were you trying to steal some—"

"No!" blurted Mi-Sun, head snapping up. "I'm not a thief!"

I scowled. "Oh really? Then let's see what that bulge in your pocket is, shall we?" I reached the fairy, but Musa pulled me away nearly as fast as Mi-Sun lurched backwards.

"Why are you being such an asshole?" the music fairy hissed at me as I shook free from her grasp. "So what if she is stealing? It's from Candi so it hardly matters."

I bit down on my tongue in repentance. She had a point. "Right. Sorry. I'm just...confused." And then, in a more levelheaded tone, I asked, "What are you doing here, Mi-Sun?"

She bit her lip. "I'm..." She hesitated, shifting nervously and taking a sudden interest in the carpet. "Looking for something." Pause. "Something Candi stole," she clarified.

I clicked my tongue in disgust. "On top of being a bitch, slut, and future home wrecker, she's also a thief. Who would've thought?" I said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry," Flora said to Mi-Sun, sympathetic. "We'll help you look for it. What was it?"

Mi-Sun hesitated, as if debating whether or not to trust us. It wasn't like we'd rat her out to the headmistress for trespassing; after all, _we_ were doing the same thing. My roommate must've realized this because she at last replied, ""A...piece of jewelry my dad gave me a while back, before he died. I always carry it around as a good luck charm. Before she disappeared, I...said something Candi didn't like and she stole it. I would've come to look for it sooner, but the detectives were constantly in and out." Wow, they had detectives come out already? MCPD didn't fuck around. Well, at least not when the senator was involved.

"Okay, so what does it look like? I might've seen it around somewhere," said Flora.

"It's a necklace. It's got a big glass pendant that's decorated with floral gemstones," explained Mi-Sun. "It's really important to me; I've held on to it since I was little." Her eyes bulged, panicked. "What if Candi threw it out or something? I'll never forgive myself if—"

"Don't worry, I'm sure it's in here somewhere" reassured Flora. "If Candi knew you valued it she probably stashed it away to use as leverage later. We'll find it."

Musa cut Flora a look. "But we have to—"

The nature fairy cut in. "This shouldn't take long. Once we're done helping Mi-Sun we can grab what we need and leave before time's up." I expected Mi-Sun to question why _we_ were in Candi's room, but, thankfully, she didn't say anything. But I did see her eyes drift down to our plastic-gloved hands (did you really think we'd be stupid enough to leave behind fingerprints?), specifically Azriel's rune marking the back of our palms. She didn't comment on that, either.

We all spread out, each girl taking a different corner of Candi's portion of the room (to be honest, I was surprised they hadn't given her her own like Stella. I guess since she was only a senator's daughter she didn't qualify for such treatment). Musa and I didn't hesitate in snooping through the bitch's possessions; we yanked drawers open and shamelessly dug through its contents (seriously, how many pair of thongs did that slut own?). Meanwhile, Mi-Sun and Flora were more... conscious of the fact we were violating someone else's personal space and selectively investigated spaces that were more out in the open.

Not long after we started, I thought of something. "Wait. Mi-Sun, how are you even here?" I asked, pausing and turning to look at the fairy. "How'd you get past the runes?"

Something like panic flashed across her face. "Runes? What ru—"

"Hey, I think I found it," announced Flora, drawing our attention. Standing on her tip-toes, she reached for something on one of the shelves and lifted up Mi-Sun's necklace. The glass trinket caught the afternoon sunlight pouring into the room, sending an unnaturally blinding flash across the room _and_ my mind. I couldn't explain it, but seeing that vibrant light triggered some kind of distant, fragmented memory all the way in the back of my mind. I pushed it aside, deeming it as nothing.

Mi-Sun didn't seem to notice and hurried over, gratitude painting her face. "Thank you so much!" she nearly cried out in relief, snatching it from Flora, who beamed in return. I, on the other hand, just stared at Mi-Sun's backside dubiously. That was way too easy. It'd literally taken Flora two seconds to find her precious belonging, meanwhile Mi-Sun had been searching for it for at least five minutes before we arrived. Candi had stored it in a super-obvious place too, so there was no excuse as to why Mi-Sun hadn't located it earlier. Unless she'd been looking for something else...

"And I think I just found something even better," said a pleased Musa from the cluttered depths of Candi's closet. She emerged and I couldn't help but crack a small grin at the laptop she waved around triumphantly. We just hit gold.

"I could kiss you right now," I said, truly meaning it. I was still a bit pissed at her, but I could overlook that for now.

Musa returned my grin. "Let's open it, shall we?"

Flora looked skeptical. "I don't know, guys. We shouldn't look through her computer. That's wrong."

"And you know what _else_ is wrong? Stealing other people's shit and blackmailing them into serving you," I reminded impatiently. "Trust me, this is the least the bitch deserves. Open it, Musa."

Musa was more than happy to oblige. Dropping to her knees, she set the laptop atop Candi's queen-size bed and opened the lid eagerly. I was at her side a millisecond later and though she hesitated at first, Flora curiously joined me. Mi-Sun, who was clueless as to what was going on and what she was supposed to do next, just hovered by the door awkwardly.

It took about thirty seconds for Candi's laptop to power on and, much to my delight, it opened straight to a kawaii screensaver. For a second I thought we'd have to get Tecna to hack into it but to our luck, Candi hadn't been smart enough to set a password.

"Alright, we're in," said Musa, tapping on the Start button. "Let's see what Her Royal Bitchiness has been up tp."

"Hurry," I urged, "we don't' have much time."

From the selection menu, Musa clicked 'Documents' first. There were about five folders, all of them labeled 'New folder.' Musa went into each one to find them all empty. She skipped over 'Music' and forwarded into 'Pictures' to discover a full library, triggering my excitement. " _Now_ we're talkin'," I said.

"Wow. I didn't think this was possible, but she has even more photos than Stella," said Musa, scrolling the dozens and dozens of pictures. She clicked through a few of them. One was of her and a trio of stoned-looking girls in scraps of clothing posing in what I assumed to be a nightclub. The second was taken at a beach and featured Candi in a skimpy bikini, scandalously posing beside a tattooed eff-boy on a strip of sand bordering the ocean.

"Hey, isn't that Neil Whitethorn?" wondered aloud Flora.

"Who?" I raised an eyebrow.

"You know, that model from that underwear commercial. The one with the Gretchen Scottoline." _Who?_

I shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know. I don't watch TV."

Musa kept going through the pictures and for the most part, they were all similar to the first two. "They're not here," she frowned.

"What aren't?" Flora and I asked in unison.

"The pictures of...you know. I thought for sure they'd be in this folder."

Oh yeah. The pictures of Flora. I didn't even think about them. "Maybe they're hidden in some kind of secret folder."

"I wouldn't matter if they were. Even if we deleted them, Candi probably has them backed up somewhere else," reminded Flora, voice cracking.

Musa tapped on a random photo file and what popped up made her make a strangled noise, like she just choked on a sob.

Riven.

And Candi.

 _Together._

They were standing in a crowded, fancy-ass club. Candi had her arm thrown around Riven's shoulder, caressing his neck with her long, decorated fingernails. She was holding him extremely close—boobs-pressed-against-chest close. She had a smirk on her face as she stared into the camera tauntingly, like she could see Musa on the verge of bursting into tears. Then it occurred to me: that was her intention. She had this taken specifically _for_ Musa, to fuck with her emotions even more. To add on to the damage done by Darcy. And Riven...Like usual, the bastard didn't realize he was being played and wore a smirk that matched Candi's, most likely proud of himself for "scoring" such a hot date. Who knows how long he gloated about it. But this didn't make sense; Riven was _Darcy's_ bitch, not Candi's. Unless the witch was in on this? I didn't know and I really didn't care. All my ill-feelings for the music fairy faded and I poked her shoulder gently. "You know this doesn't mean anything," I said softly.

Musa managed a nod and clicked out of the picture. And deleted it. I knew her emotions were all over the place, but now wasn't the time to have a breakdown. "I just got an idea," she said.

She opened another file and yet another picture of Candi took up the whole screen. The first thing I saw was her super-small string bikini. It was impossibly tiny; the thing just barely covered her nipples. The rest of her boobs were exposed. She had a summer tan going on and all her hair was swept to the side, spilling over her shoulder. She stared into the camera lasciviously, her glossed lips playing into a seductive smile.

"I wonder what would happen if this got out," said Musa darkly, "and how the public would react when they realize their beloved senator raised a slut."

My mouth dropped open. "Musa, you're a fucking _genius_."

Flora caught on. "I don't know, guys," she frowned, "that sounds a bit extreme. Candi's whole family shouldn't have to suffer for her actions."

I disagreed. "They totally should. After all, it's _their_ fault she's like this. They let her run around unchecked, and now they have to pay the consequences."

The corner of Musa's lip tugged up into a cruel smirk. "Candi's not the only one who knows how to play the game." I could barely contain my excitement. This was _perfect_ , and just what we needed. If Candi dared leaked that photo of Flora, we could retaliate by releasing these to the media. It'd be a burn for several burns.

"I'm going to send this whole folder to my email," said Musa, launching the internet. "So we can use it to—" She stopped short when a new page popped up. Instead of taking us to a web browser, we were directed into an _email address._ One that was already signed in."What the...Is this...?"

"Candi's email?" I finished. "Looks like it to me." So let me get this straight: not only did Candi fail to protect her personal files with a password, but she was too stupid to even log out of her email? This day just kept getting better and better.

Musa went into her inbox, where only 15 messages awaited. In one of them, someone claimed they'd found Candi's ID and was charging two hundred credits to return it. In another that was sent two weeks ago, someone else was telling Candi to meet them "in the usual spot" so they could "work on a physics project."

"But Candi doesn't even take physics," said Flora.

"Because they're not actually talking about physics, Flora," said Musa slowly, realization dawning over her. "It's code."

"What?"

"I've...heard rumors about this convenience store in the city," explained Musa, "called Physics. According to some of my classmates, there's this guy there—the owner, I think, who sells... _things_ to people who are underage." OH. So he was Candi's drug dealer.

"The other email about Candi's ID is code too, I think," went on Musa, "whoever sent it probably doesn't have her ID. I think they're offering to _make_ one for her."

Then it hit me. "Of course. _That's_ why the computer was hidden; it's not her personal one, but her _secret_ one. The one she uses to do her shady side shit so her dad won't find out."

Musa nodded in agreement. She went back to Candi's inbox and froze. "Guys," she said, "look." She pointed at the screen, specifically the most recent email. It was titled "can't wait to meet you" and sent...the day Candi was last seen.

!

Musa didn't hesitate in opening it and Flora and I peered over her shoulder anxiously. The only thing inside was an address for someplace on Steass Avenue. Flora paled. "Steass Avenue. Th-that's where we went that night..."

My breath caught. "You were there? At this address?"

Flora looked weak. "No, but the party we went to wasn't that far away. Candi probably...that could've been where she went after she sent me home." My heart skipped a beat. Finally, a clue!

"Musa, send this to your email too," I ordered, suddenly very hopeful. "We can check this place out after—" The runes on the back of our palms all started to flash at once. Oh shit.

"Hurry, we're running out of time," I said. Azriel's spell was going to wear off any minute now.

"What about the locator spell?" asked Flora as Musa got to work, eyes wide and panicked. "We still haven't—"

I threw open a drawer and snatched up the first thing I saw: a pair of thongs. I didn't care how ridiculous it was; as long as it was Candi's personal possession it didn't really matter what we brought back to the Volreichs. And let's be honest. What was more personal than underwear? I stuffed it in the plastic bag we'd brought along and stuffed _that_ in my pocket. "There, happy?"

Musa, who was apparently lightning-fast with a keyboard, shut the laptop when she was finished and reburied it under the heaps of clothes in the closet. "Let's bail," she said. Our job here was done.

On our way out I grabbed Mi-Sun's arm—I'd forgotten she was even there—and pulled her out of the room with us. Just in time too; Azriel's marks faded from our hands the second we made it out.

Bloom and Stella were still the only ones in the hall and their faces were an absolute picture when we emerged with Mi-Sun. "Where did she come from?" Stella raised an inquisitive eyebrow at the short fairy as she and Bloom abandoned their positions at either end of the corridor to regroup with us.

Bloom looked just as confused. "Yeah. No one's even came this way since you three went in."

"This is Mi-Sun, one of my roommates," I explained, the word 'roommate' odd on my tongue. I rarely discussed— _mentioned_ my roommates to the other Winx, so it felt weird bringing the subject up now, much less actually introducing one to my friends. "She was already in Candi's room looking for a gift Candi stole from her."

"Well, I found it so I should probably get going," announced Mi-Sun quickly and awkwardly, giving us all an embarrassed smile before fleeing down the hall in a rush.

"She's...shy," was the best I could explain after she disappeared around the corner.

Flora smiled. "She's cute."

"Enough about her. What did you guys take?" asked Stella curiously.

It wasn't until we reconvened with Tecna I showed them the thong. In the bag, of course. No way in hell I was touching that thing again. And, as expected, Stella cracked up the whole trip back to the Winx's apartment, even as Musa tried to explain our findings (excluding the Riven thing).

We returned to Dragontail to find Azriel had disappeared from his perch on the couch, much to our dismay. "Where'd that dumb cat go?" I demanded, scanning the living room. "Don't tell me he left without us."

"Um, Stella? Did you leave your door open?" asked Flora, raising a curious eyebrow at Stella's room door, which had been left ajar.

Stella narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "No…" She started for bedroom, all of us close behind. The blond hit the lights and all eyes immediately landed on Azriel, who was curled in a ball atop Stella's bed.

The demon cat lifted his head and blinked against the light, growling like a wolf. "Do you mind?"

Stella wasn't intimidated in the slightest. "Do _you_ mind?" she countered, storming inside. "What do you think you're doing in _my_ bed? Now it's covered in filthy cat hair! Didn't the devil ever teach you to respect other people's things?"

"Technically, we demons aren't born from the devil," corrected Azriel, yawning and stretching. "He's just the guy in charge. And what, did you actually expect me to sleep on that dreadful couch? It reeks of rodent," he said, glancing at Kiko pointedly. The rabbit cowered in Bloom's arms. "This is much more comfortable. Anyway, I'm assuming you got what you needed?" We all nodded. "Good. Then I can finally leave this dump. See you back at Trillium Moon." And before any of us could react, there was a poof and the cat disappeared in a swirl of smoke.

Our mouths dropped open. "Where'd he go?" asked Bloom.

"I think he teleported," said Musa, a little dumbfounded at the animal's effortless use of the super-advanced spell.

"What?" I growled. "Then why didn't he just teleport us all here to begin with?"

"That's not how teleportation spells work. In most cases, they can only be used to teleport to places you've been before," explained Tecna, "so having never stepped foot in our apartment, Azriel never had the means of teleporting here."

Something occurred to me. "Wait, so doesn't that mean he can teleport here whenever he wants now?"

Tecna released a heavy sigh. "Technically. Though Alfea is protected with magic wards that are supposed to prevent this, with the level of power Azriel possesses it would be easy to slip through them." I imagined Azriel sneaking into the Winx's apartment whenever they were in class, sleeping in their beds and snacking on the birds that often gathered on their balcony in the morning.

"Well, it's a good thing I don't live here. _Wait._ If he can teleport why didn't he just take us with him? That would've saved both time and energy. Now we gotta walk back."

Bloom just shrugged as Stella whined about all the hair Azriel had left on her comforter and pillows. "Tough luck. We should get going before it gets too late." There was a knock at the door just as we were exiting Stella's room. Being in closest proximity, Bloom made it over first and opened the door a crack. "Oh, hi Alice!" she exclaimed, opening it wider to the familiar face. Alice? As in my other roommate? What was she doing here? I knew she and Bloom were lab partners in potionology, but they were hardly acquainted enough for her to…

I knew there was something wrong the second I laid eyes on my other roommate. Her usually serene face was now twisted with worry and her eyes were brimming with worry. "Acadia, have you seen Ahisa?" she asked, eyes skipping over Bloom and locking on me.

Ahisa, my other- _other_ roommate. My breath caught. "N-no. Why?"

"She went out Friday night and I haven't seen her since. I've been trying to get in contact with her all day but she won't answer her phone. I think something's wrong."

Beside me, Flora went still. She slowly turned her head to look at the ice fairy. "Friday night when she went out. Do you know where she went?" she asked slowly.

Alice nodded. "There's this place she works at in the Steass district—"

"Oh no." Flora blanched. I just closed my eyes. Steass. The same place that party was held, the one Candi had dragged Flora to that night. The same place she most likely met the recipient of that email. The same place she disappeared.

Alice looked between us. "What's going on?"

I groped for an explanation, but I couldn't find the right words. How could we possibly explain everything without confusing her, without revealing too much? Even if there was a way it wasn't like we had that much time to spare...

"Alice," I said at last, "I need you to listen to me. Do you think you can run to our apartment right quick and grab something of Ahisa's?"

* * *

"Ahisa's the sort of fairy who's always punctual, so something had to have gone extremely wrong for her to be so tardy," explained Alice as we came to a halt at a dangerously busy intersection and Musa poked the crosswalk button. We were en route to Trillium Moon and, unfortunately, we hadn't been able to beat the evening crowd. The amount of people out had doubled, almost tripled since we left for TM the first time. Though it was later in the day, the city itself was just waking up. The streets on the ground and in the sky were teeming with activity as people commuted from work and got ready to go out on the town for the night.

"Oh yeah, now I remember who she is. We have fourth period together," recalled Stella over the roaring sounds of traffic as it raced by. "We have fourth period together. She's swears she can see people's true love, but I honestly think she's just a scam. I asked if she could reveal who my true love is, and can you believe she had the nerve to try to charge me four _hundred_ credits?"

Musa shrugged. "Probably because you're the High Princess of Solaria and she knows your cheap-ass can afford it. She usually only charges fifty credits." Realizing her error, she quickly added, "I know some girls who paid for her services." Yeah right. Musa _herself_ had probably sought out the love fairy, if for no other reason than to find out if You Know Who was her soul mate. She probably had high hopes too until she found out there was a fee.

Alice shook her head. "She's not a fraud. Ahisa has a rare talent: love magic. That being said, she can see use visions to see anyone's match. She often uses this to her advantage and gigs as a matchmaker every now and then. That was what she went to do Friday night."

The stoplight turned red and the holographic sign on the curb signaled us to cross the street. Once we all safely made it to the other side, Bloom fell into step beside Alice. "How do you know Ahisa just isn't staying over a friend's?"

"Oh, she always does," replied Alice as we walked past a row of street vendors. "It's really late when she gets done working, so she usually spends the night at a friend's and makes sure to call and inform me about her plans so I won't get worried. That wasn't this case this time. I haven't heard from all at all."

"Maybe she had a family emergency?" suggested Musa.

Alice frowned. "Highly unlikely. Ahisa isn't on good terms with her family. There's no way she'd go back home for anything. And even if she did she'd still call me." The concern lacing the ice fairy's voice made me stomach twist with guilt.

I was a terrible person and an even more terrible roommate. I never knew any of that stuff about Ahisa, never bothered to get to know her better although she'd made several friendly advances toward me. My association with all my roommates was confined to an official "good morning" and an occasional conversation about our coursework. That was it. I'd been so hell-bent on being around the Winx 24/7 I blocked out everyone else as if they didn't matter, as if they were irrelevant and inferior in comparison to the other Winx members. They weren't.

"Do you really think this has anything to do with the senator's daughter's disappearance?" asked Alice. Bloom had explained to her how we were searching for Candi, leaving off the specific details concerning Flora and the hacked police report.

"I've been pondering that possibility," said Tecna, "at first I assumed Candi had specifically been targeted because of who her family is but if Ahisa has indeed been abducted, that could mean a serial kidnapper is on the loose and setting his sights on Alfea students. We could all be at risk."

My head snapped up from the concrete I'd been dumbly staring at up until now. "You honestly think so?" I asked, my mouth going dry.

"That's just an assumption for now. I need more clues before I can form a proper conclusion."

My mind reeled. The situation was direr that we thought. If some sick individual(s) really was snatching high school students off the street that meant all of us could possibly be in danger. I found myself scanning the street, looking over my shoulder to make sure no one was suspiciously tailing us. Were we being watched right now? When would the mastermind strike again? Would we be his/her/their next victims? No, impossible. There were seven of us. No way would anyone be stupid enough to try something when there were so many of us, so many of us to fight back or scream for help. I kept my mouth shut and dismissed my fear, although that didn't stop me from taking a mental note of everyone and everything I saw. Just to be safe.

We turned the corner and after a few blocks, the high-tech, futuristic skyscrapers yielded to groves of lush, fluffy trees bordered by tall iron wrought fencing. Magix City Public Garden. "Hey, how about we cut through the garden?" suggested Musa, slowing down as we neared the entrance. "It'll save time." Though that was true, I knew the music fairy was only trying to cheer up Flora, who'd been silent with worry, no doubt about the unknown results of the upcoming locator spell that would determine her fate.

Tecna nodded her head. "Yes. The grounds has a secondary entrance facing Upolm Avenue so instead of going around and enduring traffic, we can use the garden as a short cut." We all echoed our agreement and proceeded through the entrance, a wide, arching arbor that was decorated with tendrils of flower-dotted vines.

If Flora wanted to stop and smell the flowers and absorb the beauty of the garden she didn't say anything. Part of me wanted to make that suggestion, but I knew it'd be a waste. Nothing would put Flora at ease. Not until we knew the status of this Candi drama.

"So if you're friends with Acadia, how come I never see you two hang out?" Stella aimed the probing question at Alice in a nosy-ass attempt to steer the conversation elsewhere.

I sucked in a breath, preparing for the awkward silence that was bound to ensue. Alice and I weren't exactly friends; I just didn't neglect her as much as my other roommates. Thankfully, Alice gave one of her signature elegant, effortless smiles. "Our schedules contrast each other so our friendship is usually limited to our dorm room."

Stella raised a sly eyebrow. "Oh really now? Where no one can see? I wonder why that is."

"She just told you why, dumbass," I snapped. Stella shot me an impish grin. What was she...OML.

"For the last time, I'm not a lesbian," I hissed lowly.

Stella gave me a mischievous grin over her shoulder. "Then prove it."

I wrinkled my nose. "What—" Stella inclined her head to the left and we all looked in that direction to see a group of five guys a little older than us swaggering over, chests puffed out.

Great. Time for a healthy dose of sexual harassment. Just what we needed. Apparently, Stella seemed to think so because paused in the middle of the walking trail, forcing all of us to stop too. Bloom grabbed the blond's arm and frowned. "Stella, what are you doing?" she asked quietly, "Ms. Andelle and Ms. Violet are waiting for us."

Stella flashed a flirtatious grin in the guys' direction as they approached. "Don't worry. We won't be here long. We'll have a little fun and then go straight to Trillium Moon. I promise." Ugh, we didn't have time for this shit. I wanted to leave her stupid ass behind and keep going, but Stella wasn't exactly the brightest and it would NOT be a good idea to leave her alone with these douches. So I just growled at the princess and stepped in front of Flora protectively. Musa followed suit.

The leader of the group, the buffest and biggest, winked at us. "Hey ladies," he said smoothly, giving each and every once a thorough— _thorough_ once over. An uncomfortable Flora squirmed under his gaze, making him, whom I was now calling Dick #1, smirk in a disgusting matter that mirrored his aura. "Going somewhere?" There a haughty gleam in his eyes. Easy prey, I knew he thought. I resisted the urge to dropkick his ass.

Stella, who was in full out flirt mode, stuck out her glossy bottom lip and pouted. "I wish. Can you believe it? It's Saturday and we have _nothing_ to do. We literally had to drag ourselves all the way out here just to look for some fun." Gag me.

The corner of Dick #1's mouth tugged up into a cocky grin. "Well, here it is. How about you all come party with us at Club Obelisk tonight?" And get drunk, and do drugs, and possibly get raped. No thanks.

I answered on behalf of the rest of us. "No thanks. We're not interested in boys whose brains are smaller than their dicks," I drawled, "if that's even possible."

Dick #1 matched my tone. "Be my date tonight, babe, and find out for yourself." Die.

The small-eyed black-haired one—Dick #2—stepped out from behind his boss and looked Alice up and down, sizing up her like a juicy steak. "Wow, girl. You're hot." Really? That's the best you can do you narrow-eyed buffoon? Alice was obviously the first girl he'd ever flirted with. And probably the last.

"Actually, I'm an ice fairy," corrected Alice, politely yet frostily, through a tight-lipped smile.

Dick #2 smirked. "Even better. I'll need something to cool me off when we're through." Though Alice's face had gone blank, I knew she was debating whether or not to plunge an ice dagger straight into his heart.

"Don't you fucks have somewhere else to be?" I growled, not bothering to fight the scowl playing on my lips.

"Relax, Acadia. They're harmless," giggled Stella, batting her thick, possibly false eyelashes up at Dick #1.

Bloom was getting impatient now. "But Stella, _we_ actually have somewhere else to—" She startled when Dick #1 appeared just inches away, towering over her.

"Where are you trying to run off to so fast, red?" he purred. "Stay and play with us." He reached out to tug a lock of her carrot-red hair, but Bloom recoiled in disgust.

She glowered at him. "Don't touch me." It was at that moment I realized it was just us on the trail; all the other civilians had vanished. Of course...

Dick #1 just laughed. "Why not? There's no need to be shy." He proceeded to reach for her again, but Musa jumped in the way and slapped his hand away.

"Didn't you hear her, you perverted shit? She said don't touch her," the music fairy hissed through bared teeth.

"Ooh, this one's feisty," smirked Dick #3, setting his predatory gaze on Musa.

Musa didn't even flinch. "Don't get any ideas, pal."

"You're awfully quiet back there," said Dick #1, preying eyes skimming over me and landing on Flora. "Why're you hiding? I won't hurt you~"

"Back the fuck off," I spat as Flora shrunk behind me.

"How about you come out of your shell and join me and the blond tonight?" offered Dick #1, still devouring Flora with his eyes. "We'll show you a good time."

All the amusement faded from Stella's face. "What?" she snapped. Wow, this backfired on her way quicker than I thought.

"That's right, sweetheart. You're coming home with me," smirked Dick #1, grabbing Stella's arm.

Musa wasn't having this. "Let go of her, you piece of—"

Dick #3 snuck up from behind and seized her shoulders. "Calm down. You'll get your turn~"

Stella tried to break free from Dick #1's grip, but he was too strong. "Get your dirty hands off me, you foul-breathed halfwit! I'm a _princess_! I'll have my father throw you in prison for this!"

"A princess, huh? Even better." When Dick #1 proceeded to grope her, Alice and I reacted in sync. I readied to hurl a wind spell at his ugly ass and Alice lifted a hand, summoning a crystalline glyph to attack as well, but a voice cut through the park:

 _"Enough."_ Calm, yet authoritative. Impassive, yet soft steel. Everyone turned to see none other than Karel coming over, hands folded across his chest and face menacingly blank. Much to my astonishment, Dick #1 dropped Stella's arm like it was hot. The blond flinched back, looking ready to pounce and draw blood.

Karel neared, staring a hole in Dick #1. Pathetically, Dick #1 couldn't hold his gaze and spat. "Whatever. C'mon guys. We have better things to do than waste our time on used goods."

Stella's mouth dropped open. "Used goods?" she repeated, repulsed and insulted. "Why you—"

"Hush, Stella," reprimanded Flora, poking the blond in her side as the Dick Squad retreated, each one giving Karel the evil eye.

"Greetings, Karel," said Alice at the same time Flora was gushing, "Thank you so much, Karel!" They traded surprised glances.

"You girls know this cutie?" asked Stella, winking at the newcomer. Unbelievable. It unnerved me how quickly she reverted into Flirt Mode, as if we hadn't just been the victims of sexual harassment. Thankfully, Karel didn't acknowledge the advancement.

Alice started, but Flora talked over her. "This is Karel, one of Trillium Moon's regulars," explained Flora. "He's nice."

Alice didn't seem bothered by Flora's uncharacteristically rude interruption. "Yes. We took a potionology class together during the summer."

Unlike Flora, I wasn't happy to see the near-stranger. "What the hell are you doing here?" I demanded. "Were you _following_ us?"

"Acadia, stop!" cried out Flora. "Karel saved us."

Saved? Hardly. "Don't you think it's a bit odd this is the second time it's happened? I'm starting to think he's stalking us."

Before Musa could accuse me of being an asshole for the second time today, Karel, composed as usual, directed those intense eyes on me. "Don't get the wrong idea; I have no reason to follow you. I was only passing through this place because it's a shorter route to Upolm Avenue."

The same direction we were headed. "Why do you need to go there?" I asked suspiciously, much to Flora's dismay.

"That's none of your business."

"Um, I'm pretty sure it is," I snapped as Bloom tugged on my arm. "Or I just _might_ get the wrong idea."

Karel stared at me for a long moment. After realizing I was holding him up and wasn't going to back down, he sighed, making me feel both triumphant and guilty. "I was on my way to Trillium Moon."

I knew it. Flora tried not to look pleased. "Why?" I pressed. "You already visited once this week and you're not one to break your routine."

"Yes, but I need to discuss something urgent with the sisters. It cannot wait." He proceeded to walk away, but I side-stepped in his path.

"Something urgent?" I repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Like what?" Tecna shot me a look. I was wasting time, I know, but I just had this inkling.

"Nothing that concerns you."

I dared to voice my suspicion. "It doesn't have anything to do with...disappearing people, does it?" Bloom sucked in a breath.

Karel went unnaturally still and he pinned me with a sharp stare. "What do you know?" he demanded quietly.

I tried not to smile at the fact my hunch was right. "Oh, nothing, " I shrugged, "just that girls are going missing from Alfea too. And as crazy as it sounds, that's why we're also on our way to see the Volreichs. To find answers."

Karel took a second to process this information. "Was...it someone you knew?" Bloom asked at last.

"No. They were just my classmates at Red Fountain. Three of them, all freshmen." Red Fountain? I didn't know Karel even _went_ to school, much less at our brother institution. _And_ he was in the same year as us? He looked so much older...

Alice's eyes went shadowy. "Strange. The girls missing from our school are both freshmen as well."

Stella was smart enough to look disturbed. " _Definitely_ not a coincidence."

"Indeed," mused Tecna, "it seems the same culprit or culprits are targeting Red Fountain. Could they have their sights set on all three of Magix City's top academies?"

"Possibly, but there's no way to be certain. All three went missing without so much as a clue. That's why I require the Volreichs' expertise." Me and my nosy ass wanted to pry deeper. _Why_ did he care if his classmates, ones he weren't even acquainted with, went MIA? Why did it matter to him? As much I was wanted to know, I refrained from pushing him any further. Just like us, he had his own reasons. _Private_ reasons.

But still, wasn't it weird how many paths had crossed today? First Mi-Sun, then Alice, and now Karel. Us running into all three today couldn't be a coincidence, either. I know it was corny, but though multiple factors were in play, it was like the same force was at work, behind everything, pushing us all down one particular path. I wondered what awaited us at the end…

* * *

The closing sign was still in Trillium Moon's window when we got back but we ignored it and burst into the shop, the welcoming bell baring overhead. Azriel, who was lounging on the counter next to the register, turned his head toward us. "I was beginning to think you all got lost. Enjoy your trip?"

I scowled at him as everyone filed into the store. "No thanks to you, asshole."

Azriel opened his mouth to retort, but stopped when the Volreich sisters shuffled out from the Backroom. "You're back, and you've brought company," said Violet, her face brightening at the sight of Alice and Karel.

Much to my surprise, Andelle walked over and gave Alice's shoulder a squeeze. "It's been a while since you last paid us a visit. How've you been, girl?" I looked at Alice inquiringly. She hadn't mentioned the fact she knew Andelle and Violet. I guess that was why she agreed to come with us to Trillium Moon so willingly. This proved everything wasn't merely happening by chance.

Alice managed an apologetic smile. "My apologies. Between school and meditation, I've barely had leisure time."

"Ah, so you've finally decided to take up precognition again," said Andelle understandingly, "that's good. It's not healthy to keep suppressing your powers. But enough about that. What brings you back to Trillium Moon? You too, Karel. I don't think there's even been a time you visited on the weekend."

Alice explained the situation with Ahisa, and Flora the part about the missing Red Fountain students. By the time they were finished, the witch sisters' faces were grim. "We fear these kidnappings aren't a coincidence," concluded Flora, "some group might be purposely targeting students from Magix's main schools."

Azriel snorted. "I don't get that. What good is a bunch of high school halfwits? Maybe they're harvesting their organs." I could practically fell the fear flaring in Flora. I shot Azriel a stern look.

Andelle did the same. "We'll worry about that later. For now, let's focus on finding those girls. She turned to Alice. "I assume you brought along a personal possession of your roommate's?" Alice nodded, using the levitation charm to lift the small plastic bag containing Ahisa's heart-shaped locket out of her purse. "Good. Let's begin." As if on cue, all the furniture in the center of the space moved aside. Andelle snapped her fingers and the candles strewn around the shop all became aflame, emitting scents of vanilla and casting a golden glow. Fire magic. I wonder if she'd be Bloom's teacher later on.

I pulled our bag out of my pocket. "Um, clothes will work too, right?" I asked with a nervous giggle. The old ladies gaped at the thong and Azriel chuckled. I would've laughed at their reaction too if my stomach wasn't so tight and twisted with anxiety.

Flora tried to explain, her face flushing. "We got distracted and we ran out of time—"

Violet simply lifted a hand. "No need to explain. This will do."

Andelle turned to us as Violet arranged some pillows in the open space. "We may require one of you to assist us. Adding in a third magic source will hasten the speed of the spell."

I got an idea. "Why don't we _all_ converge our magic?" I suggested hopefully. "That way the spell will be even be even more powerful and increase the chances of being successful." With Bloom's Dragon Flame thrown in the mix there'd be no spell we couldn't get past.

Andelle shook her head and my stomach dropped. "Too risky. If your theory is correct and those girls really were kidnapped, their abductor would be able to detect a magic that strong pushing against their wards."

"I'll do it," offered Alice, stepping forward. No one objected.

"Very good. Now let's get this damned thing over with," said Andelle, taking a seat on a pillow.

The girls, Karel, and I quietly and attentively watched from the sidelines as Violet and Alice took their positions on the other pillows, forming a circle. Andelle then used magic to remove the locket and panties from their bags, putting them in the center. The three joined hands and I sucked in my breath. Showtime.

As Andelle started muttering an incompressible incantation, I saw Bloom take Flora's hand in her own and give it a squeeze. This was it, the moment we'd all been waiting for. The results of this spell would change everything for either the better or worse.

With their eyes shut, the three sat silently and motionlessly for a good few minutes, making worry creep up my spine. Was something supposed to be happening? Why wasn't—

Suddenly, Ahisa's locket started to give off tendrils of golden light. The fabric of Candi's panties, as weird as it looked, began to glow golden as well. Hope swelled in me once again. This was a good sign, right?

I studied Andelle's face, searching for any indication that the spell was or wasn't working. However, her face was as blank as stone. Violet's too. And Alice—

"Oh my gosh! Alice!" I exclaimed when my gaze shifted to my friend. The ice fairy's face was trapped in some kind of voiceless gasp and her eyes were wide open, spinning in their sockets. Something was wrong.

"What's going on? What's wrong with her?" asked Bloom, sounding genuinely worried. "Should we do something?"

"No," replied Karel and Tecna sternly. Tecna explained, "Interfering could break their link, breaking the—"

Flora's scream cut her off midsentence. I almost asked why she was screaming, but then I saw why. Alice was starting to tip backward, completely unconscious. Luckily, I lurched forward and caught her before she could collide with the floor. She was limp in my arms.

"Alice?" I nearly shouted, shaking her.

No reply.


	28. The Real Adventure Sarts Now

"What the hell just happened?" Musa nearly shouted, voice wavering. In my arms, the limp ice fairy was as cold as, well, ice.

"No one panic," ordered Andelle, "quickly, Violet, we need a reju—"

Suddenly, Alice's eyes popped open, startling the shit out of me. She sat upright like a robot, mumbling something under her breath. I started to ask if she was alright, but it was obvious she wasn't. Her eyes were glazed over and her face was frozen in an unnaturally blank expression. _"...she who appears to be so but is not will lure them into the raven's trap..."_ she muttered flatly, staring off into space.

"What's going on? What's wrong with her?" cried out Flora.

I grabbed Alice's shoulder and gently shook her in attempt to snap the seer out of whatever daze she was in. "Alice? Alice?" My roommate didn't even flinch and continued staring off into another world, murmuring on and on without even pausing for a breath.

Karel crouched down to our level, inspecting Alice. "She's in a trance." No, duh.

Alice kept on as if she didn't see or hear any of us. _"...the Great Flame was unleashed, swallowing the darkness and forging the footholds of Destiny..."_ The Great Flame as in Bloom's power? What did that have to do with anything? Unless—

Violet's eyes widened with realization. "Not just any kind of trance; she's having _visions_."

"Visions?" repeated Stella.

"Alice's a precog," I explained, "she can see the future." I turned to Violet. "But how? I thought she was suppressing her powers."

Andelle made a sound of disapproval. "We warned her doing so was unhealthy. It's only natural for one with the foresight ability to have visions, and Alice here has been subduing hers for far too long. When she joined her magic with mine and my sister's, the force of our combined powers must've triggered her gift."

 _"...and the very foundations of the Magic Dimension were shaken with the power of the Chosen One..."_

"What are we supposed to do to help her?" Bloom asked over Alice as vatic utterances continued to fly out of her mouth. "Is she going to keep going or...?"

"I don't know," was Violet's grim reply. "I've never seen anything like this before. Usually, seers only have one vision at a time and depending on its severity, the seer could be left unconscious for many days. But Alice is having multiple visions, and only seconds apart. Not even the most renowned precogs have that many that frequently. They're overwhelming her to the point she's lost touch of reality, and can't control them."

"From what I know, normal foretellers can only glimpse into the future so many times before they experience a burnout," said Tecna, "it drinks up a lot of their energy—too much of their energy. At the rate Alice's going, she might not even have any mana left."

 _"...an alliance will be born of the Children of Destiny..."_

She didn't even have to explain what that meant—not even to me and Bloom, novice magicians. Everyone, even non-sorcerers, knew what total mana depletion meant. As stated earlier, mana was like a life force. Every living thing had mana; magicians were just able to transmute theirs into magic. Everyone had a natural "container" of mana and it determined the limit or limits of his or her magic, whatever it may be. If one used mana faster than it was restored they were draining their "container" and weakening both their magic and physical bodies. If a magician ignored the symptoms and continuously depleted their mana until they had no more, the consequences could be fatal. That being said, if Alice didn't get a grip and continued using her precognition, her health could suffer tremendously.

"Then we have to stop her before she reaches her breaking point," I said, still keeping a supportive arm around my roomie. "We have to knock her out."

 _"...a shadow will fall over the land and fire and ice will collide..."_

"No, that is even more dangerous," said Andelle firmly, "when a seer has a vision they have a special connection to Fate itself. If this link is severed forcibly by an outside source and causes the seer to lose consciousness, their mind could be negatively affected."

"So what the hell are we supposed to do?" I snapped.

"Cadey, language! Have some respect." Flora's reprimand was soft, yet stern.

Neither of the sisters seemed fazed or insulted by my outburst. "Alice is the only one who can save herself now," said Violet, "it's up to her to either reign in her powers or fall victim to them."

 _"...Great Flame burns in two, one light one dark. The rifts between the dimensions will be..."_

"C'mon, Alice. Snap out of it," I said through bared teeth, shaking my friend again. "You gotta wake up." She didn't even bat an eye. Her shoulders started to sag the more and more she prognosticated the more and more energy she consumed. No. I refused to watch her deteriorate before my very eyes.

 _"...keys fashioned from stars and sparks, their keeper the one who—"_

I slapped her.

The crack of skin contacting skin echoed off the walls, and silence befell the room. Alice, who I had shocked into silence, sat still as a statue for a moment before turning to me, blinking away the cloudy film in her eyes. "W-what happened?"

OoO

"Do you remember anything?" inquired Violet, handing Alice a cup of rejuvenation potion.

From atop her pillow, the ice fairy accepted it gratefully and took a sip, wincing at the bitter taste. "Just a few bits and pieces, and even those are still foggy. I had a lot of visions—the most I've had in years—but I forgot them the moment they passed. I tried to hold on to a few, but it was like they were washed away in a flood of other visions. It's hard to explain." She took another sip of the potion. It worked fast; color was returning to her face already. "I didn't ruin the spell, did I?"

Beside me, Flora tensed and Musa drew in a sharp breath. Here it comes. The moment we'd all been waiting for. The big reveal.

Andelle and Violet exchanged a look I couldn't decipher, making my heart beat a little faster in silent alarm. Was that a bad sign? Violet eased herself back down onto her pillow, cursing her old bones under her breath. And then, instead of answering Alice's question, she posed another. "Tell me, Alice. What was revealed to you during the spell?"

All heads turned to Alice. Even Karel, who was sort of blending in with the shadows toward the back of the store, turned an attentive ear to her. Alice set down her cup and straightened, face going grim. "Before I was overcome with visions I saw...nothing. Nothing but darkness. I established a connection with Ahisa's mana via her locket, but I couldn't find or sense her when I searched for her energy. It was like—" Alice shivered. "It was like she didn't even exist anymore. There was nothing but a cold, empty void where her presence should've been. Like she was erased." She glanced at us apologetically. "Sorry if I'm not making sense."

"What about the other girl?" Tecna asked on behalf of Flora, whose throat and chest were probably too clenched to speak.

The grim look Andelle and Violet shared was answer enough.

The locator spell had failed.

* * *

To be honest, I wasn't as surprised as I thought I'd be.

I mean, yeah, it was scary to know Candi was even out of the Volreichs' reach but I wasn't completely dumbfounded like the other girls, mainly because deep down, some part of me had anticipated this. Ever since Bloom first suggested coming to Trillium Moon for help, there had been this dark, distant part of me that suspected even the witch sisters wouldn't be much help—that the locator spell would still fail. Not because I was dubious about the sisters' abilities, but because I knew things never went that smoothly for us. Fate never made things easy for us; it just so happened whenever we got involved in a situation or set out to accomplish something, everything just took a turn for the worse. Nothing—NOTHING never went as planned for the Winx Club. We either got caught up in a bigger drama, or got thrown off course by some sort of obstacle. Things just never happened like we wanted, expected. That was why I had a bad feeling about the locator spell; there was no way we'd be able to find Candi that easily. Fate, Destiny, the Force, or whatever the hell you wanted to call it rarely made things that simple when it came to us. However, I chose to ignore the inkling since the other girls had practically been _radiating_ hope and I didn't want to ruin that. That and I'd managed to convince myself there was a chance whatever force was at work would be on our side this one time, would spare us for sweet, innocent Flora's sake. Well, I was wrong. The spell failed (the Volreichs hadn't been able to sense her in the Force or whatever) and we were back to square one, expect now we had even less to work with.

The next hour felt like five. Now that we had what we wanted, I wanted nothing more than to leave Trillium Moon. I know Flora felt the same but so we wouldn't appear rude, we stayed the whole time while Alice filed a missing person report over the phone and Karel discussed the Red Fountain situation with the Volreichs. When it was finally time to go, Karel offered to escort us back to Alfea. None of us protested; though we all knew good and well we didn't need a chaperone, we wanted to keep him in our company for Flora's sake. If that wasn't overkill, Andelle and Violet sent Azriel with us too. "Just in case," they said. The cat would've protested to the last breath if it hadn't been for Violet's subtle reminder about the hellhounds. At the sheer mention of them, Azriel leaped into Stella's purse and demanded we get a move on. So we did. And here we were now, advancing up Upolm Avenue in silence.

Nighttime was approaching; the sun was dipping behind Magix City's multifarious skyline, bathing the pale blue sky and wispy clouds in faint pink and purple that melted into the majestic gold and orange at the horizon. A magnificent sight, but none of us were in the mood to stop and enjoy it. All the Winx walked in a protective pack while Alice and Karel kept a few paces behind, heads ducked down as they whispered to each other. I wondered what kind of relationship my roommate had with the mysterious Specialist. Antisocial Karel didn't seem like the type to have friends much less a lover, but you never knew. Could Alice be a potential rival of Flora's? Eh, I really didn't care and at the moment, I didn't think the nature fairy did, either. She had more important things to worry about. Like what we were going to do next. What _were_ we going to do next? It wasn't like we had that many options; after all, the locator spell had failed meaning we had nothing to act on, nothing to build a plan upon. We were at a dead end.

What did that mean for Flora? I could care less about Candi's wellbeing—all I worried about was clearing my friend's name. With little to no evidence for the authorities to go on, they wouldn't be taking their eyes off Flora anytime soon. The only way to further progress the investigation was to look into the persons of interest, and the last thing we needed was the police showing up on Alfea's doorstep _again_ to intimidate the nature fairy even more. Hell, they may even come for _me_ considering my name was also on the suspect list.

My throat almost locked up when I thought about something: what if the police decided to research my background info to find I didn't have any? I'd just spawned in this dimension a few months ago—there were no records of me that dated prior to that time. They couldn't trace my family tree, my academic or medical histories, or even my birth certificate. They didn't really have shit in their database about me. I was suspicious, a mystery; a near-grown woman who didn't actually exist until less than a year ago. What if they took me in for questioning? What if the story I came up with wasn't convincing enough (because I doubted they'd buy that whole "I just magically teleported here from another reality" BS)? What if I got kicked out of Alfea—

I silenced my thoughts. Now wasn't the time to give myself a panic attack. The situation wouldn't escalate to that point. I wouldn't get exposed. Hopefully.

Flora had a faraway look in her eyes the whole way to the bus stop, like she was lost in her thoughts. So was so out of it, in fact, I didn't think she noticed when we waited at the curb for the bus for nearly ten minutes (it was late as usual) or when we boarded it. The ride was only fifteen minutes, fifteen minutes Flora stared out of the window distantly and quietly. When it was time to disembark Musa almost had to yank her out of her seat. When we got off at Wrisk Way, Musa, who was desperate to lighten the mood, offered to treat Flora to a cupcake from the cute bakery further down the street, but Flora declined in a near whisper, making Musa's shoulders drop with defeat. I hoped the music fairy knew Flora wasn't holding a grudge or anything. Though she hadn't said so out loud, I knew all the nature fairy wanted to do was go home and bury herself under her covers. Hell, I felt the same way. It'd been a long day and I was willing to turn in early to put it all behind me (hopefully, I'd actually be able to go to sleep this time).

Unfortunately, I knew that wasn't going to happen anytime soon the second we rounded and the corner the same time Brandon and Sky emerged from the pet parlor a few storefronts ahead with Lady, whose coat looked creamer and glossier even from a distance. I willed them to keep walking and they would've if Lady hadn't turned and spotted Bloom. She started yipping playfully and sprinted in our direction, pulling on her leash and catching Brandon's (Sky's) attention. His whole face brightened when he saw us, specifically Bloom, approaching. "Hey guys!" he called. While Bloom gave a small wave and Stella a tight-lipped smile, I fought the scowl my lips were starting to play into. I had a terrible headache right now, so the _last_ thing I wanted to do was stop and converse with my least favorite Winx Club character. If it were up to me I would've pretended like I hadn't seen his ass and kept going but since none of the other girls were that cruel and I didn't want to walk back to school alone, I had no choice but to slow to a halt with everyone else. Though to emphasize my non-chatty mood, I stood beside Alice and Karel, who kept a respectable distance behind the Winx since they weren't acquainted with Brandon and Sky.

Brandon (Sky), however, seemed to recognize one of them because he raised a questioning eyebrow in our direction. "Karel?"

Bloom shifted her gaze between them curiously. "You all know each other?"

"Not exactly," replied Brandon (Sky) slowly, "Karel's the grandson of the headmaster of Red Fountain, so everyone knows who he is." His voice was a little strained; he probably didn't know what to think about us (specifically Bloom) hanging around another guy, a guy he didn't know. Eh, whatever. He could kick rocks for all I cared. What I _did_ care about, however, was the information he'd just revealed.

Karel was Saladin's grandson? I thought _Helia_ was. So did that mean Karel was Helia's brother or cousin? I mean, that would make sense considering they resembled each other in appearance, but it didn't make sense at the same time. In the cartoon Helia never once mentioned a brother or cousin, or even anyone related to him beside Saladin. But then again, the writers of Winx Club only deemed Sky relevant (since he was the main character's lover) and never bothered to go into detail about any of the other Specialists' pasts (since their sole purpose in the whole show was to function as Sky's squad/the other Winx's just-barely-relevant boyfriends), so I guess it was possible the two of them were related in this version.

Wait, what if Karel was Helia? What if my being thrown into the storyline altered his character or some shit? No, that couldn't be right. Everyone else looked and acted the way they had in the cartoon, so Helia couldn't be an exception. Right?

"So that's why you've dedicated yourself to finding those missing students," said Flora quietly, glancing up at Karel. "You feel like it's your duty as the headmaster's son." Some of the defeat in her jade eyes had faded and was replaced with a unique twinkle of admiration/respect/fondness. Karel looked away pointedly.

"Missing students?" repeated Brandon and Sky simultaneously, raising an eyebrow. "Wait, you mean those guys from our class?" asked Sky (Brandon) as Lady growled at Stella's purse. Brandon (Sky) tried to shush her, but Lady wouldn't let up.

Azriel, the cause of her unrest, stuck his head out of the bag and hissed at the dog. "Oh, shut your useless yapping you ignorant pile of fleas." He looked up at Brandon and Sky, who were gaping at the talking cat hitching a ride in the princess's handbag. "Who are these buffoons?" he asked disinterestedly.

Brandon (Sky) started. "Did that cat just—"

"Talk? Yeah." Bloom gave a small laugh. "A lot's happened, and I'm sure you'd like to hear the story. Walk with us?"

OoO

"And you think all these cases are related?" asked Brandon (Sky) grimly as we all ambled up the road to school, the castle's structure looming over the surrounding trees and glowing in the evening light. For the most part, Bloom had taken it upon herself to explain everything (excluding the personal parts about Flora), which kind of bothered the shit out of me. We didn't need to drag _more_ people into this situation; it was useless, especially since nothing could be done about it.

Tecna shook her head. "That's the only logical explanation. There's no way these abductions, which have all taken place around the same time, are independent."

"Sounds like the work of a cult," said Sky (Brandon), stuffing his hands in his pockets. I expected Azriel to throw out a comment about the victims being used as sacrificial offerings or some shit, but he was too busy snoring his little kitty ass off in Stella's purse (he'd gotten bored of us real quick).

"My thoughts exactly," agreed Tecna as Flora shivered at the dark theory, "I'm going to start researching a few tonight to see if I can match any of their past activities to what's occurring now." That was a start, I guess.

"Yes. I plan on doing a little investigation of my own," said Alice, who had stuck by my side the whole trip. "I know the club she was supposed to gig at Friday night in Steass, and I'm thinking of going over there tomorrow to ask some questions." Oh yeah, Ahisa. Why did I keep forgetting about her? I wanted to punch myself in the gut.

"I'll come with," I offered out of guilt. Ahisa was my roommate, meaning it was also my responsibility to find her. She wasn't any less important than Candi. In fact, I should've been more concerned about her considering she was _actually_ innocent.

Sky's (Brandon's) eyes widened. "Speaking of Steass, that reminds of a rumor I heard yesterday about one of the guys that went missing. Bishop Bornebolt, I think. They say he was last seen headed to Element." Karel scoffed—the only sound he'd made in the past fifteen minutes—at that, piquing us girls' interest.

"What's Element?" asked Musa.

"A Specialist hangout in the Steass district," explained Brandon (Sky). "Sky and I don't go there often. Let's just say it has...a reputation."

I didn't want to know. I too hung up on the fact Element was in _Steass_. Apparently, Musa was too, because she came to an abrupt stop. "Okay, this is getting freaky," she announced.

I nodded furiously. "First the senator's daughter doesn't come back from a party in Steass, then my roommate goes missing on her way to or from work in Steass, and then a Specialist is nowhere to be found after going to take load off in _Steass_..."

Sky's (Brandon's) eyebrows rose. "There's some super shady shit going down over there."

"I concur," said Tecna, "I looked up the address that mysterious recipient sent Candi in her secret email that day she was abducted. It belongs to a restaurant in Steass called the Silver Witch. This is far too suspicious to overlook."

"That's why I think we should investigate," announced Bloom.

Stella's snapped in her direction. "What is there to investigate? If those witches couldn't find Ahisa and Candi, what makes you think we can?"

Bloom shrugged. "We don't have to give up just because a spell failed. Magic isn't the answer to everything. Maybe if we ask around, we can find some clues that'll help us figure out what's happening." I guess that wasn't a bad idea. Since the Harry Potter way failed, it looked like we'd have to take the Nancy Drew route.

"I don't see why not," said Flora, "it wouldn't hurt." I knew a sliver of hope had sparked to life inside her.

"Yeah. Let's go tomorrow," nodded Musa, sounding a tad bit hopeful herself. She was glad we weren't _completely_ backed into a corner—at least not yet. "We can divide and conquer."

"Sky and I will come with," offered Brandon (Sky), "if people really are going missing, you girls will need protect— _back up_."

"You should come too, Karel," I said on Flora's behalf. I wouldn't hurt to recruit another ally, even if they weren't in the canon. "You might learn something you can report back to your grandfather."

"Fine," was Karel's clipped reply. Flora brightened, making me relax.

Alright, so it looked like not _all_ hope was lost. Although we might not discover the current status of the missing people, we still had a shot at figuring out what happened to them, at unearthing the truth. Sure, we'd have to take a more hands-on approach, but it was better than nothing. And who knows? Maybe our efforts wouldn't be in vain this time...

* * *

I couldn't sleep.

I'd been in bed for a good three hours now—it was just past midnight—but my eyelids weren't even heavy. And no matter how much I tried to will myself into slumber, my body refused to listen to my silent pleas—I wasn't drowsy in the slightest. This frustrated me; how could I _not_ fall asleep after all the shit that had gone down today? Between training, enduring the emotional turmoil after Flora got interrogated again, witnessing my friends hack the police, snooping through Candi's room, making those rounds to Trillium Moon, and everything else that happened, today had felt more like a week. That being said, it should've been easier to doze off and put this tiring day behind me, but I…couldn't. I really shouldn't have been surprised; I'd been losing sleep little by little over the weeks (ever since this situation with Flora and Candi) for some strange reason, but I never suspected I'd stop sleeping all together. But I _needed_ to rest—it was the only way to replenish the energy I'd used today so I would be ready for tomorrow and whatever surprises it had in store—but I just couldn't tame this beast of insomnia and it was driving me insane. I'd tried everything I could think of: turning off my brain even though I wanted to contemplate the day's occurrences, counting sheep, changing my sleeping position, taking a warm shower, and even putting on different pajamas. But nothing worked. I was fucked up. The only way I was going to get some shuteye was if I had some sort of med—

I sat upright. A sleeping aid—that was just what I needed. But how was I supposed to get one? Sleep-inducing potions weren't cheap and it wasn't like an underage girl like me could just waltz into any drugstore and purchase an over-the-counter bottle of sleeping pills at this time of night, either. Maybe one of my roommates had something I could take...

I slid out of bed and padded over to Amaryl's half of the room. The girl was passed out drunk, the foul smell of beer clinging to her clothes and breath. Of course. I should've expected this; the girl went out drinking _every_ Saturday night. At least I wouldn't be here to put up with her hungover, cranky-ass tomorrow. Not wanting to wake her (that would suicide), I quietly slipped into the common area of our apartment. I started to proceed toward Ahisa's room, but a pang of guilt stung my heart when I remembered she wasn't here. We'd find her, I reassured myself. That's why I needed to get some shuteye; so I could be at the top of my game tomorrow.

I went to Alice's and Mi-Sun's room next. I eased the door open and was greeted by darkness, light snoring, and the lingering scent of vanilla from the candles Alice had put out some time ago. Both of my roommates looked comfortable and at peace tucked in their beds and though I didn't want to disturb them, I was desperate. Alice needed her strength just as much as me, so I tip-toed over to Mi-Sun. I pulled back her cover and gently shook her shoulder. "Mi-Sun," I whispered. "Mi-Sun." She shook me off and muttered something incomprehensible in her sleep, turning on her side. I shook a little harder. "Mi-Sun," I repeated, louder this time.

"H-huh?" The girl startled, head snapping up to look at me fearfully. Once she gained enough consciousness to recognize me, she only relaxed a little. "A-Acadia? Wh-what are you doing here? Why aren't you in bed?" she stammered, sitting up and blinking against the sleep clouding her eyes. I almost felt a little envious of her.

"I can't sleep. I was wondering if you have anything that can...help me."

Mi-Sun blinked. "You mean like...?"

"Yeah. I'm about to go out of my mind."

Mi-Sun sat silent for a moment as if she was debating about something. "I have something you could," she said, peeling back her cover. She reached over and switched on the bedside lantern. I glanced over at Alice just to make sure the light didn't disturb her. The ice fairy hadn't even stirred. Mi-Sun pulled over the top drawer of her nightstand and picked through the clutter to pull out a bottle that said Ventaridol. "I suffer from insomnia too sometimes," admitted Mi-Sun, "so my doctor prescribed these. I don't use them very often." She gave the small bottle a light shake to emphasize her point. Dozens of pills rattled inside—almost a full bottle. "I call them my tiny miracles." She blushed. "I know it sounds stupid but they work like a charm and always save me from restless nights. I can give you a few if you want." I gave myself a moment to think it over. Was I really going to resort to this? I heard it was easy to get addicted to sleeping pills. But I was smarter and had more willpower than that. After all, I'd taken one or two in my late middle-school, early high-school days and never craved another. This would be no different. Besides, this was an emergency, a one-time thing. I didn't want to be all cranky and groggy tomorrow.

"Yes, please," I heard myself saying.

Mi-Sun unscrewed the cap and poured three in my open palm. "One will do the trick. Save the others for another time you can't sleep."

"Thanks a lot, Mi-Sun. I owe you one."

Mi-Sun gave a shy smile and then I crept back into my room. I had a half-empty water bottle on my dresser and I drunk the rest of it with one of the small white pills after stashing the other two. Afterwards, I climbed in bed and waited. At first, I thought it wasn't going to work, but then I felt my whole body relax to the point I almost felt weightless.

And then I was gone.

OoO

I slept like a baby for the rest of the night.

I couldn't recall the last time I slept so heavily, so blissfully. I didn't wake up until 9:15 the next morning, and when I sat up I was surprised at how relaxed and rejuvenated I felt. My body felt energized and light as a feather like I could dance on air and regardless of having just woke up, my mind felt like a glass of crystal clear water, so pure and contained nothing but perfect clarity. I'd never in my life waken up feeling this soothed, this empowered. I could see why Mi-Sun called them her "tiny miracles." The one I'd taken had done the job and then some. I felt like a brand new person, like I could accomplish anything. Like I could conquer the world.

I practically leapt out of my bed and went over to the window, drawing the curtain and allowing tendrils of morning light to pour into the room. From her side of the room, hungover Amaryl released a heavy, dramatic groan and buried herself under her covers. I pretended like I didn't hear and floated over to my closest, grabbing a pair of clothes and my hygiene products before heading off to the showers.

I was ready to get this day started, to begin what would do doubt be an adventure and face whatever challenges it might present.

* * *

It was nearly late afternoon when the Winx, Alice, and I arrived at Magix City Central Railway Station, an enormous glass futuristic building with a unique curved design and several elevated tracks protruding out of it in all directions. And boy, was it crowded; the train halls were all teeming with people. The station itself was so packed, in fact, we had to wait in line _thirty minutes_ just to buy tickets (which, thankfully, were always discounted on the first day of the week). Once that was done, what was best described as a disaster ensued.

It all started when Stella got a random caffeine craving (like, REALLY? At almost _three in the afternoon_?). She whined until we gave in and let her stop at a coffee shop, which was another thirty-minute wait. Once the bratty blond got her overpriced latte and it was time to meet up with the boys (since they had another dragon-training exercise this morning, we all agreed it'd be easier to just convene at the station instead of one party meeting the other at the designated school and traveling from there), we realized something: we didn't know _where_ we were supposed to meet them. Somehow, literally _no one_ had heard what terminal we were supposed to wait in when we bought tickets for the 4:15 Steass train, which led to a whole new problem.

Alice, who was a quick thinker, suggested we text one of the guys to see which one they were in. Balancing her latte in the other hand, Stella, who jumped at any chance to talk to her beloved "prince", whipped out her phone and forwarded "Sky" (whose name was decorated with flirty emoticons in her contacts list) a quick message. A nanosecond later, the brunette responded with: _Terminal E_. At least we could rely on _someone_.

You'd think it'd get easier from there, but it didn't. We knew which terminal was ours—now we just needed to find out how to get there. That was a whole new issue in itself. After wandering the maze of escalators and kiosks for who knows how long, Tecna had enough common sense to ask one of the AI assistants for directions. Another problem solved. After we got the information we needed, we pinpointed Terminal E, and with time to spare.

Now, when we got there, why was it Karel, Brandon, and Sky were nowhere to be seen? Just as Stella was about to text Sky (Brandon) again, _he_ sent a message saying: _Sorry. I meant Terminal B_. This earned him a collective groan and a curse from Musa. Okay, I take back what I said earlier. I snatched the phone away and texted, _YOU DUMB FUCK_. He responded with, _Hi Musa_. Followed by, _Or Acadia_. Stella quickly snatched her phone back before I could see any of her past texts with Sky (Brandon), giving me the evil eye.

So this time, instead of asking where Terminal B was, we simply asked where the 4:15 Steass train was going to arrive. We were told Terminal B, what Sky (Brandon) should've said the FIRST TIME. It didn't take long for us to get over there; just a quick ride down an escalator and a short dash (yes, we had to _dash_. Thanks a lot Brandon) across the south hall. Thankfully, we made it there at approximately 4:11.

"B—Sky you dumbass," I bellowed the second I caught a glimpse of his brown hair as we emerged from the tunnel-like hall and stepped out onto the glossy tiled platform of Terminal B. A few of the passengers gave us looks but my eyes skipped over them and zeroed in on the Specialists, who stood outside of the masses and closer toward the track.

Sky (Brandon) gave me a goofy grin when we made it over. "Hello to you too." As casual greetings were exchanged (and a few flirts on Stella's and Brandon's parts), I watched as Flora went straight over to Karel, who leaned against one of the pillars with his arms folded across his chest.

"Karel, you came," she said, trying not to sound too excited.

Karel didn't return her smile. "Why wouldn't I? I gave my word," he said thinly, more interested in the giant map of Magix City's railroad system on the far wall. "Did you think I was a liar?" I cringed at his bluntness. I almost felt embarrassed for Flora as she stuttered and tried to explain herself. Mercifully, the roaring of the fast-approaching train's whistle drowned out her words, sparing her from the awkwardness.

The needle-nosed train eased into the terminal right on schedule, its doors sliding open the second it halted. A multitude of people poured out of it, leaving the terminal as fast they came. Once they'd all cleared out, we and the rest of the passengers filed into the train, settling into the seats that were still warm from someone else's butt. Bloom snagged a window seat and Sky was already stealing the seat next to her before I could even start in her direction. Ugh, as expected. Karel walked past a line of empty seats and chose to sit in the back. I could almost fell Flora's desire to join him but for the sake of not looking stalkerish, she sat beside Stella instead. The blond looked pissed at that; it was no surprise she'd been saving that seat for Brandon, hoping the "prince" would keep her company the whole trip. Too bad for her; the brunette didn't even look in her direction as he breezed down the aisle and joined a undeniably attractive girl (with all that mascara she had on, it looked like she was on her way to audition for manga porn) who only had to bat her eyelashes at him.

Stella scowled and turned to the window furiously as she screwed in her earbuds, no doubt planning to block out the upcoming flirt session with music. Alice had already chosen to sit beside an older college student and was engaged in a conversation with him, meanwhile Tecna, whose eyes were glued to her handheld, had flanked Karel, both of them pretending like the other one wasn't there. That left me with Musa, who'd quickly gotten comfortable at a window directly behind Bloom and Brandon (Sky) and across from Stella and Flora. The music fairy was already staring off into space and didn't notice when I sat next to her.

After about five minutes, the train screeched and jerked as it took off down the track, slow at first before progressing into a faster speed. It wasn't long until the station was behind us and we were riding down elevated railways that snaked over roads and between skyscrapers of Magix City. Musa and I didn't speak for a good ten-minute stretch of time. While she got lost in her thoughts (which were probably about Riven), I focused on the surrounding sounds: the married couple arguing in hushed voices a few rows up, Bloom grimly recounting her dream to her future boyfriend (bleh), the sounds of the swaying train car, Sky's (Brandon's) new buddy giggling her ass off at whatever he'd just whispered in her ear (okay, I was actually trying my hardest to tune out the last one). I even exchanged a few words with Flora so she wouldn't feel disregarded; Stella, clearly triggered by her crush entertaining another girl, was too busy growling at the window (I was waiting for her to punch a hole in it any minute now) to even glance at her roommate.

When I couldn't bare the empty silence between us, I finally spoke up. "Are you alright?"

"Hm?" Musa shook out of whatever daze she was in. "Oh. Yeah. I'm fine. I was just...thinking about some things."

"Riven?" I said quietly. I wasn't going to let her beat around the bush this time.

For a second, Musa just stared at the back of Brandon (Sky's) blond-ass head as if debating whether or not to mention her secret crush around his rival. I didn't see why she was being skeptical; good ol' Brandon— _Sky_ was obviously a Mary Sue. He wasn't going to repeat shit to Riven. In fact, Brandon (Sky) hadn't even heard a word we said; no, he was too enthralled by the nonstop chatter of his counterpart. When Musa realized this, she sighed. "Yeah. I think...do you think he's into Candi?"

I responded the flattest, blankest "No" I'd ever said.

"I keep trying to tell myself that...but I can't get that picture out of my mind."

"Candi's not what you should be worrying about," I said. Or Riven, I wanted to add. I'd be more focused on handling the task at hand; after all, it was partially— _partially_ Musa's fault this was even happening to Flora. Her fate was far more important than Darcy's Whore.

"I know, I know. It's just...when you're in love with someone, it's hard to stop thinking about them. I've been thinking about Riven constantly." Musa turned to the window again. "I even tried calling him once. About a week and a half ago."

That was news to me. "Did he pick up? Wait, how did you even get his number?"

"Social media. But anyway, I called him. Talk about a big mistake."

"Let me guess: he went batshit crazy."

"He didn't even answer. _Darcy_ did," she said acidly, "for a second I thought about hanging up, but some part of me just...snapped. I completely lost it and went off on her."

 _That_ was what I didn't understand. "But why? What was the point of giving Darcy the reaction, the satisfaction she craved? Fucking with you gets her high. I don't get how you always fall into her traps, why you always set yourself up like that. Riven's a lost cause. He's her bitch; nothing you say or do will change that."

Musa's hand balled into a fist. "Don't call him that," she growled softly.

I blinked at her in disbelief. "Seriously? You're _still_ not convinced?" He went wherever she went, said whatever she told him to say, _did_ whatever she told him to. Wasn't that proof enough? Musa didn't say anything, refusing to look at me.

I gave a tired sigh. "I know you love him but for the sake of your sanity, your _happiness_ , let him go, Musa. I don't know how many times I've said this— _you've_ said this—but _he's not worth it_." Why couldn't she just come to terms with that irrefutable fact? Riven was a no-good piece of poison-laced shit. There was no saving him. I'd said it a thousand times and I knew I was going to have to say it a thousand more. Musa was still clinging to her naive dream of bringing Riven into the light, her arms. Even though he degraded her, wounded her pride, and made her feel like absolute shit, she wouldn't learn her lesson and was going to pay for it eventually. It was sad.

As expected, Musa didn't respond. Alright then. Conversation over. I wasn't surprised. Discussions about the Lone Wolf never ended on a positive note.

The rest of the ride was tense for the both of us. I nearly jumped out of my seat when the train eased into South Steass Station; I was ready to go. I wasn't the only one; Flora and I were two of the first ones out of the door when the indicator light dinged.

The air in the terminal was hot, stuffy, and stale. It wasn't as nice as the ones in MCCRS, either. While MCCRS was all spacious, fancy, sleek, and modern, SSS had a concrete platform under low ceilings, which were supported by dirty brick pillars. So yeah, definitely not the nicest. My nostrils flared when I got a whiff of the odorous air—was that mold? Eh, no bother. We wouldn't be here long anyway.

Sky (Brandon) was the last of our group to disembark the train; after exchanging numbers and a few last flirts with his new supermodel friend, he finally swaggered over, completely ignorant to anger and jealousy radiating off a seething Stella like hot air. "So what's the plan?" he asked, although we'd already gone over it twice before.

If Tecna was bothered by his forgetfulness she didn't show it. "We're going to split into three teams," she began, "some of us will investigate The Candleroom—" The club Ahisa worked at "—others will look into the Silver Witch, and the remainder will go to the Specialist hangout."

"Alice and I will go to The Candleroom," I said after sharing a nod with my roommate. It was our responsibility to find our roommate.

"I'll go to the Silver Witch," volunteered Musa, who deemed it _her_ responsibility to clear Flora's name even if it meant rescuing Candi herself. Tecna decided to accompany her.

Sky and Brandon would obviously go to Element; we needed a Specialist if we wanted access to a Specialist club. Brandon (Sky) asked Bloom if she wanted to join them, and you already know the answer she gave. Stella waited to see if Sky (Brandon) was going to request her companionship and when he didn't, she angrily declared she was going with Musa and Tecna. Flora and Karel ended up siding with me and Alice, and that was that. We were good to go.

"We'll use our phones to stay connected," said Tecna, "just in case anything goes wrong." Please, no. Not today. That was the last thing we needed. But with how _wonderfully_ things had been working out for us, I suspected Fate had a surprise or two in store for us—

OoO

The walk to The Candleroom from SSS wasn't far—just about ten minutes on foot. It wasn't until the four of us were halfway there something occurred to me.

"Hey, Alice," I said, never taking my eyes off Flora's backside as she and Karel walked ahead of us. The other two groups had gone in the opposite direction upon leaving the train station. "I have a question."

"Hm?"

"Why would Ahisa come all the way out here just for a side gig?" I asked. "I mean, Steass is over half an hour away from school by train. Why commute so long when she could just gig at a club way closer to Alfea? Her magic's rare; no one would turn her down."

Alice opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by Flora's scream, startling the shit out of me. Every part of me became alert but before I could ask Flora what was wrong, she was suddenly charging forward. I opened my mouth to call her name, but the word got stuck in my throat when I saw what she was sprinting toward.

Candi was standing across the street.


	29. Revelations

**A/n: A few seconds of the official season eight trailer has been released, and the fandom is** _ **panicking.**_

 **I thought Rainbow hit their all-time low at season 7, but I was proven wrong when I checked tumblr this morning. Sure enough, Rainbow has changed the overall art style of the show and it looks** _ **terrible.**_ **I thought Nickelodeon's animation was bad (it contrasted that of the original seasons. The art style for the original seasons one through three was mature. Then Nickelodeon came around with that girly animation and made everyone look more Barbie-ish and anime-ish), but this is just….no.** _ **No.**_ **This new art style is extremely,** _ **painfully**_ **childish and the girls look 14 instead of 24. If I was embarrassed to be seen watching Nickelodeon's Winx Club as a** _ **child,**_ **I don't know how much damage my pride is going to take when season eight comes out. Rainbow has lost their** _ **mind;**_ **seriously** _ **,**_ **the whole** _ **staff**_ **has just earned their Moronix** _ **.**_ **I can't** _ **believe**_ **they would actually have the audacity to disgrace Enchantix by reviving it in this shit-awful format (because in case you didn't know, this new over-the-top season is supposed to feature past transformations). Also, Stella's new Starlix (Starix?) transformation has been released and honestly, I'm not impressed. Once again, they failed to incorporate sun and moon accents (I think Rainbow doesn't acknowledge Stella being a moon princess because they're too afraid the fans will perceive her as a Sailor Moon rip-off), and since Stella's transformations have always been star-themed, this is nothing new. Another disappointment is that Rainbow is white-washing Flora again (and Musa from the looks of it), and Kiko looks like he just hopped straight out of a kawaii anime. I'm not even going to try to imagine what the Specialists look like now.**

 **But enough about that. Let's talk about** _ **O Wondrous Wielder of the Winds**_ **for a minute. As many of you guys noticed, this is not the original chapter 29. The original was posted three months ago and was completely shitty in my opinion, so I trashed it along with the original chapter 30 back in July.**

 **Get this: it took me two** _ **months**_ **to rewrite chapter 29.** _ **Two months.**_ **I was stomped and fruitlessly brainstorming for the longest. Once I finally came up with something decent, it actually only took me two weeks to jot it down on virtual paper (I am fully committed here).** **Thanks so much to everyone who sat tight; I know I kept you waiting for a long time. I expected to lose some story alerts—and I did—but I ended up gaining way more than I expected. As of now, this story has 109 follows and 114 favorites. Although I was inactive, I still gained over 10 alerts and that makes me so happy! Thanks so much for sticking with me! Enjoy the "official" chapter 29. I'll admit; it's slightly rushed because I was dying (in the literal sense) to finally be done with this chapter after all this time. I hope you like it anyway!**

 **XXX**

 _I shone the flashlight on the gathered shapes stirring on the bank of Lake Roccaluce, and was not surprised to find five faces staring back—four alarmed, one terrified. I'd heard their subdued devilish giggling long before I confronted them—that's how I was able to pinpoint their location in the first place._

 _Stupid. If they were going to sneak out so late at night, they should at least have the common sense to be more inconspicuous. Or at least have someone on lookout. It was way too easy to creep up on them, and they didn't notice my presence until it was too late._

 _They all whirled around, eyes panic-stricken, believing they'd been busted by a professor or guard on night patrol. A dark, unashamed part of me relished in their fear. Maybe I_ should've _bought Griselda; it would've been so satisfying to watch the old hag unleash hell on them in her grandma nightgown. But alas, doing so would've only landed Flora in even more trouble, so I didn't dare._

" _What the hell are you shanks doing out?" I growled, hating how their shoulders sagged with relief. My eyes lingered on Flora's favorite periwinkle nightgown, which lay discarded on a rock. I_ knew _it…._

" _You're just in time for the show," drawled an all-too-familiar voice, a scrape to my ears. I didn't need the light to find Candi in the gloom; the wicked gleam in her eyes was as good as a beacon._

 _I started toward them, pent up anger fueling my every step. My anger flared, a grenade detonating in the core of my heart and setting the whole thing ablaze, as my eyes slid to Flora, whose exposed tan skin glowed in the moonlight. In nothing but her plain underclothes, the nature fairy shivered relentless—from cold, rage, fear, or all of the above— as she did her best to conceal her near nakedness. Her eyes were downcast, but I knew they were welling with tears._

 _Struggling to master my rage, I made to reach out for her but Candi's three cronies leapt in front her, forming a wall between us._

 _I pinned Candi with my wrathful stare, wondering if ramming my flashlight into her skull would result in an expulsion. "It's three in the morning," I growled, "what the_ hell _are you doing out here?"_

 _Candi grinned. "Skinny-dipping." Precisely the reason she was still cocooned in a blanket over her designer pajamas. Her friends were similarly dressed, so obviously none of them had plans to get in the water. But I already knew that._

 _A night wind kissed down my neck as I got in Candi's face. "You're crazy as hell if you think I'm letting Flora—"_

" _It was_ her _idea," said Candi with an eye roll. Another lie. "And relax. She's not doing anything wrong or dangerous. She knows how to swim."_

 _Yeah, but it was cold as hell tonight. The lake was sure to be icy. But_ Candi _already knew that. That was the whole reason she'd dragged Flora out here in the first place._

 _I stared over Candi's shoulder. "Flora, come here."_

 _The nature fairy didn't move._

 _I wanted to skin Candi alive. "If you make her do this I_ swear _I'll—_ "

" _You'll what? Run and tell Griselda? We both know that's not gonna happen. Not unless you want the worlds to know what's under her ugly bra-and-panty set."_

 _I gritted my teeth. Though I knew she'd never feel guilt or remorseful, I ground out, "You're_ evil _."_

 _Nothing but cruel satisfaction in those eyes. "Oh, I know." She half-turned and ordered, "Do it."_

 _Flora hesitated. "I—Can't I—"_

"Do it." _A warning was laced in those words._

 _Flora's eyes finally met mine and they axed my heart in half. I couldn't let this happen. I turned to Candi. "Don't make her do this. I'll—"_

" _Sign your soul over to me?" Candi's smile was wintery. When I didn't say anything, she giggled. "I thought so. Go on, Flora. I heard a pair of tritons hang out in this part of the lake. How about you give them a little show?"_

 _I could only watch helpless as Flora's bra came off, followed by her panties. She took a tentative step toward the water, but didn't go any further. When Candi, who was drunk on her little power trip, finally threatened to push her in, Flora's whole body went rigid, but she braced herself obeyed._

 _I felt the splash in my blood, bones, and soul._

 _I couldn't help but imagine what the water must've felt like—like a thousand needles poking you in a thousand different places._

 _What felt like an eternity passed as Candi made Flora do humiliating things in the water, much to her and her friends' glee. They commanded her to do all kinds of outrageous things like doing inappropriate dances in her nakedness and in hopes of attracting the legendarily handsome tritons, they even went as far as to make Flora offer herself as "sensual, sexual offering." I was more than thankful when Nereus, Tritannius, or any triton failed to appear. But that didn't discourage Candi and the others._

 _I didn't want to witness their cruelty but I also didn't want to abandon Flora, so I was forced to watch the whole "show." Even if I refused to stay, Candi would've forced me to anyway, if for no other reason than to torture me and heighten her own sick pleasure._

 _After twenty painful minutes, Candi's crowd finally ran out of creative punishments and Flora was allowed to come back up and slip back into her clothes—they hadn't brought her a towel and expected her to make the journey back to school soaking wet._

 _As Flora, who must've been an iceberg at this point, scrambled back up the bank, her face was dripping—with lakewater and silent tear._

 **XXX**

I did a double take to make sure my eyes hadn't deceived me.

Sure enough, the Venus Mantrap was side-leaning against a light pole on the other side of the street, staring straight at me with keen interest.

Watching. Assessing.

Just like that, my everything soured.

Upon first glance you wouldn't even know it was her; the waist-length obsidian-black hair she always showcased with pride was now pulled up and concealed by her hood. I only recognized her because even from a distance, her sickeningly beautiful face was unmistakable. Mainly because I'd spent majority of the past few weeks imagining myself bashing it in.

Suddenly, I was on very high alert.

Something was extremely off here.

Candi's random resurfacing didn't disturb me. It was Candi herself. It was the fact she was studying us so intensely, so intently. It didn't feel right. This whole situation didn't feel right. For starters, how was this even possible? Since Candi apparently was neither dead nor kidnapped, how come the Volreichs and the MCPD hadn't been able to find her with magic? (Unless she was a ghost...?) Secondly, it was strange how Candi just calmly lingered over there. Considering she was alive and unharmed unlike we assumed, the next and only logical explanation for her disappearance was that she'd been deliberately lying low this whole time; if that was truly the case, she should've been rattled by the fact someone had recognized her and was capable of exposing/squealing on her. But no, the shank just stood there, completely undaunted even as Flora nearly flew across the crosswalk to get to her. Almost like...she was expecting us? Though it sounded far-fetched, it was the only valid explanation as to why the "missing" girl just _happened_ to resurface in Steass the _exact same time we happened to be in town_. Either her timing was deliberate, or Fate had thrown us yet another curveball.

Alice followed the line of my gaze. "Isn't that the senator's daughter?" she asked lowly as she and I started toward the pedestrian crossing with Karel in tow. "Yeah," I mused, mind reeling as I watched Flora smother Candi with undeserved concern. The nature fairy attempted to draw her tormentor into a hug, but the bitch swatted her away and scowled at her. That insensitive act alone got my blood boiling. There was no way in hell this harpy had been in danger these past few days; even the slightest bit of trauma would've toned down that bitchy attitude of hers.

I inhaled and exhaled deeply as we approached them. Calm down, Acadia. This was a _good_ thing. Now that Candi was here, maybe now we could get a sense of what occurred that night and possibly a clue or two about what happened to Ahisa and the Red Fountain student. Given the incidents were even related. Which they had to be. Right? Why else would Candi choose to show herself the day we set out to investigate?

I managed to master my anger by the time we joined Candi and Flora. "Where have you been?" I asked, deliberately calm as I stepped forward to face the girl I hated most of all (apart from the Trix, of course). My eyes ran down the length of her, critiquing her appearance. Her face, which was usually coated with half a pound of cosmetics, was now naked (and still unnervingly attractive). Her eyes were ringed with hollows, an indication of stress, a few restless nights, or both. Instead of the usual sky-high mini and stripper stilettos, the girl donned a worn, size-too-big sweatshirt, leggings, and a pair of high-tops. A suspiciously plain outfit for an acclaimed fashionista.

Candi grinned, but it didn't reach her eyes. "It's nice to see you, too." Her eyes flickered to Karel and Alice and she dropped her smile. "Who're you?" she asked Alice thinly. Figures she wouldn't recognize a classmate.

Alice gave her a tight, polite smile. "I'm Alice." Karel didn't offer an introduction, didn't owe her one. Instead, he just stared at Candi with silent intensity.

In return, she gave him a flirtatious wink before turning back to me. "So tell me. What brings you to Steass?" she drawled, "wait, let me guess: you're on a double date." Her gaze raked mercilessly over Alice's slender figure. "You definitely have better taste in girls."

As I struggled to rein in my temper, Flora, whose face was flushed from the idea of being on a date with Karel, said, "Actually, we came to look for _you_ ," she said softly.

Candi was unfazed by the revelation. "Oh, I know," she said with a shrug.

Flora's face paled. "H-how?"

"A little birdie told me." Her face fell, hardening. "Actually, I'm glad you guys showed up. I need your help."

My eyes shot up as I stared at her distrustfully. Again, something was extremely off here. "What are you talking about?" I asked slowly. I had an idea, but didn't want to throw any accusations just yet.

Candi scanned the street to make sure no one was paying us close attention. "You can drop the shit," she murmured, taking a step closer to me. "I know you know what's going on. I know you want to know what happened to Ahisa."

So she _was_ related to the other kidnappings. I entertained the thought of my hands closing around her throat. "What did you do to her, you bitch?" I snarled as Flora's face further drained of color. "Explain yourself."

Considering Candi had the high ground, I expected her to tease us with whatever information she was withholding but instead, she looked around and shook her head. "Not here," she said, ""we're drawing too much attention. Let's go somewhere else. You're going to want to sit down for this anyway."

 **OoO**

"Well? I'm listening," I said impatiently, crossing my legs. "I don't have all day." It was about ten minutes later and the five of us had relocated to a nearby park, which was really just a strip of green space that doubled as a median between two congested avenues. The four of us had ultimately settled on it because it was an ideal location; noisy enough to prevent anyone from overhearing or eavesdropping on our conversation (although we were basically the only people here), public enough to deter Candi from trying anything...shady. Though it probably wasn't too wise to discuss this out in the open, we ultimately didn't want to take any chances with Candi. Besides, unlike her, we had nothing to hide.

She now paced back and forth along the stretch of sidewalk in front of us, as if she was contemplating where to start. Seated on the bench in front of her were me, Flora, and Alice, while Karel leaned against the towering oak behind us, monitoring Candi's every movement. I started to repeat myself, but Candi cut me off. "As you know by now, Ahisa is missing," she began, pausing and expelling a sigh.

I sat straighter and watched Candi attentively, alertly. "Yes," I said, my reply clipped as my heartbeat accelerated. "She was last seen somewhere around here."

"As were a few others right before they went missing," added Alice evenly, "you included." Naturally, unlike me and a fidgety Flora, the ice fairy was unflustered by all this.

I crossed my legs. "Yes, Candi dear. Please explain that for us. Where, exactly, did you disappear to that night? Is that where the other victims are now?"

Candi paused and winced. "No—I don't know."

"Which one is it, dammit?" I snapped. Every second we spent—wasted, as I was close to believing—here was a second we neglected Ahisa. Sky, Brandon, Bloom, Stella, Musa, and Tecna were all doing their part investigating the other disappearances, meanwhile we here entertaining this fool. It didn't seem right. What if this was some kind of diversion? "You don't know, or you're too afraid to tell?"

Shadows danced in Candi's eyes. "You think you know everything, don't you? You have no idea what I've been through these past few days—"

"And I don't care," I harshly cut in, ignoring the reprimanding glare from Flora, who, judging by her face, was already beginning to pity Candi. It disgusted me, how willing she was to forget the past. Or ignore it. "Just tell us what we want to know, or else we'll leave your whoring ass." Flora nudged me—a warning. One I didn't acknowledge. I hated this harpy.

There was a flash of panic in those muddy eyes. "No! Y-you can't leave me. I-I need your help," she stammered.

I sat back and expelled a dry, humorless laugh. "I can't _believe_ you'd have the audacity to ask us for help after what you did to Flora—after you basically made her your little servant."

Candi paled. "Look, I know I wasn't the nicest person—"

"That's an understatement. You were Alfea's biggest bitch," I retorted.

"—but you have to look past that. For Ahisa's sake." I opened my mouth to argue, but Candi cut me off. "Why do you think she went missing?" she asked lowly.

"Because she was kidnapped, obviously. And you know who took her," I hissed. Candi's flinch was confirmation enough. "Why don't you just make this easier for yourself and 'fess up? Tell us where she and the others are, and we won't say anything to the headmistress or the authorities."

"I told you: I don't have a clue where they put them, but I _do_ know they're safe and alive. For now, at least."

My blood chilled. "For now?" repeated Alice.

"Are they being held for ransom?" The first thing Karel had said since we left South Steass Station.

There was no light, no mischievous gleam in Candi's eyes as she said, "No. For something much, _much_ worse." She scanned our surroundings and when she saw the only other people were all the way on the other side of the park, her voice lowered and she took a step closer to us. "That night after the party, I was attacked on my way to a visit a friend—"Translation: her drug dealer. "—and I was attacked. They stole my phone and took me to a warehouse on the other side of town, where they kept drugging me into unconsciousness. I woke up earlier than they intended and feigned unconsciousness so I could overhear their plans." At this point, Candi's face was ghastly.

Also at this point, I was sitting on the edge of my seat. I was pretty sure Flora was holding her breath. Candi swallowed. "I almost pissed myself when I heard what they planned to do with us. From what I gathered, Ahisa and the others were taken to another location, and they were going to ship me there next. Eventually, they left—to go get more sacrifices, I think."

 _Sacrifices._

The word punched through me. So Tecna was right? This truly was the work of a cult?

Alice made to say something, but Candi plowed ahead, "Someone was supposed to watch me, but they left the warehouse for some reason. I took that as a chance to escape. It took me a good hour, but I managed to free myself and slip out of a window. And then I ran. That happened five days ago."

"Five _days_ ago?" I repeated. "Why did you stay in Steass? Why not call your dad and report everything to the police as soon as possible?"

"They took my phone and my wallet. Someone was kind enough to let me call my dad for help, but—" She looked close to bursting into tears. "They don't care. He's using my kidnapping to increase his popularity, so more people will vote for him in the upcoming election. He didn't give a shit about me—in fact, he thought I was lying. That this was all another 'stunt.' He even threatened to do something shitty if I came back this early, or talked to the authorities. He said he would send for me once he got what he wanted." Yeesh. Candi's dad sounded like an asshole. Guess she had to get it from somewhere, right?

"So where have you been staying?" asked Flora gently. Karel was staring at Candi like he could see her black soul.

"At a trusted friend's place."

She could've slept in a cardboard for all I cared. That was not what I was concerned about. "How did you know we'd be in Steass today?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

Candi's cheeks reddened. "I…" She sighed. "Okay, I'll admit: before I was kidnapped, I might've…chipped Flora's phone."

Why I was surprised, I didn't know. I clenched my fist and debated smashing my knuckles against her nose. "So you've been tracking her this whole time," I said blandly as Flora tensed.

"Yeah." Candi wouldn't look us in the eye. "A friend of mine showed me how to trace her location on any device. And…how to spy on her. It was through her phone I heard you guys' plan to come to Steass. I knew some of you were headed to the Candleroom, so I decided to meet you halfway. It was a risk leaving my friend's apartment while those bastards were probably out hunting for me, but I knew you and your group were the only ones who could help me—the only ones I could trust."

I chose not to linger on the fact the tyrant had completely taken over every aspect of my friend's life and had even gone the extra mile to monitor and track her every move, her every word. "Help you with _what_?" I asked, extremely pissed. "Spit it out already."

Candi took a deep, preparing breath. "I know it might sound crazy, but these people who're taking kids…they have an objective and it's horrific. But there's something else. They're after something, and if they get their hands on it, the whole universe will be at risk. But it doesn't have to come to that. I know where it is—you guys can help me get rid of it before they execute their plans. We can save the worlds."

What?

 _What?_

My mind raced. Okay, none of this was making sense. "Care to be a little more specific?"

"No. I can't tell you the full details. That act alone could put you in danger."

Alice sat back. "So you're telling us is that the masterminds behind this mess have hatched a secret plan to take over the dimension, and the first step has something to do with the missing students. The second step requires an object, one you know the location of."

A nod.

"And you conveniently happened to overhear _all_ of this while you were laying half-conscious in a closet somewhere?" I asked, my voice dripping suspicion. I smelled bullshit. The first part about the kidnapping _could've_ happened—there was a chance she truly was abducted and her abductors cloaked her presence with a spell to prevent the authorities from tracking them down and putting an end to their operation—but the second part? Complete _BS._

"Just bits and pieces. I was able to piece the story together. I'm not a dumbass." She had a point. Candi was one of the most cunning, intelligent people I'd ever met. Unfortunately.

"So let me get this straight: you expect us to _blindly_ trust and follow you to a second location without a clue of who or what we're dealing with?" I said.

"I know you think I'm lying, but you _need_ to believe me. I would never lie about something like this."

"Yes you would," I said flatly.

"This sounds like a rather big task for five high-schoolers," said Alice stiffly, "why not just bring this information to people with the legitimate power to correct things?"

"We can. _After_ we foil these people's plan. We need to make their scheme has no chance of succeeding before we involve the authorities. They will only make this more complicated—if they even believe us." Though I didn't want to, I'd admit: the police _did_ a habit of over-complicating things and creating more issues.

Silence hung over us for a moment.

"Please excuse us for a moment," I said with faux politeness, grabbing Flora's arm and standing up. "We need to discuss this in private."

Alice rose from the bench as well and Karel pushed off the tree, both of them following close behind us.

"This is a trap," I asserted the second we were out of earshot.

Flora shook her head. Of course she'd buy Candi's sad story. "I don't think so. She's been through so much. You can tell she's in pain."

I furrowed my brows at her. "Don't feel sorry for her. Have you forgotten what she is, what she does? That was all just an act to get us to trust her." To my frustration, Flora still didn't look convinced. How the hell was that even possible at this point?

"What if what she claims is true?" said Alice, stealing a glance at the senator's daughter, who was pretending not to be watching. "There's a possibility she's telling the truth."

"And there's also a possibility she's luring us right into her snare," I countered, "we don't know what she's been up to these past few days, or what her true agenda is. She probably wasn't even kidnapped."

Alice shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not. But that doesn't change the fact the senator's daughter is the only lead we have right now."

She wasn't wrong. Out of everyone involved, Candi could possibly be the only person who had a clue of what the hell was going on.

"So you're saying we should put our complete faith in her?" I asked, disgusted. "She won't even give us all the details."

"I'm not saying we should _trust_ her," said Alice levelheadedly, "I'm just suggesting we look into this. There's a slim chance she is telling the truth and honestly, this is not an opportunity we can't afford to pass up. We might never get another one like it." I opened my mouth to protest, but she cut me off. "I know, I know. You're extremely distrustful of her, and you have every right to be. This could be a deception, but you forget: we came prepared for something like this. If we did choose to follow the senator's daughter, it isn't like we're completely vulnerable to whatever tricks she may have in store. After all, we have someone watching our backs."

Yes, Tecna.

Prior to departing from SSS, the technofairy had dispatched three drones to pursue each group. Considering all the crap that was going down over here, Tecna decided to play it safe and monitor our surroundings, our every movements, just in case things didn't necessarily go as planned. It was a genius idea to be honest. The drones— designed like ladybugs and just as inconspicuous—were programmed to track and follow our heat signatures and record everything in the area, audio included. Tecna could access the live feed on her phone, and every bit of footage automatically copied and backed up onto a hard drive back at Alfea. This was done not only for safety reasons, but also so we could use the recordings of our separate investigations for future reference and analysis. Basically, everything we saw, Tecna saw. Everything we heard, Tecna heard too (that was also the reason we hadn't bothered to call her, Stella, and Musa, who were coincidentally searching for Candi, about the latest news—they were no doubt already well-informed). Should anything happen to us, Tecna could act accordingly and utilize the footage as tangible proof if needed. And should anything happen to _her,_ the app was downloaded on Brandon's (Sky's) phone as well. We were literally taking no chances.

I bit my bottom lip. "I guess that's true—what do you think, Karel?"

"If there's a chance doing so will benefit our cause, then it is a risk worth taking," he replied blankly. Of course _he'd_ be up for it; he was Saladin's scout. If it was his mission to obtain information for his grandfather, then he would see to it that his duty was fulfilled. After all, one did not simply return to the great Saladin empty-handed. "But I don't believe it's wise to gamble the whole team's safety. I will investigate the girl's claims myself. The rest of you can proceed as planned."

"No." That was the stoniest I'd ever heard Flora's voice. "We stick together." Function as a united force at all times, act as one mind and volition every step of the way. That was a code honored by both fairies and Specialists alike. That was precisely the reason he didn't protest, completely indifferent.

Seeing I'd obviously lost, I sighed, relenting. "Fine. But if this goes wrong, just remember I told you so." I felt a stab of guilt about abandoning Ahisa for Candi. Hopefully, if the slut was telling the truth for once, we were on the first step to rescuing her and the others.

After affirming our final decision among each other, we returned to Candi to give her the verdict. "You're in luck," I drawled, "turns out we're willing to give your useless, whoring ass a second chance after all. Now lead the way."

 **OoO**

Magix City's High Museums of History.

Not what I expected.

Here I was thinking we were going to take a field trip to the south-side slums or some similarly shady location, but no, the bus shot straight into the core of the district, the most upscale neighborhood in all of Steass. Since the Steass District was the cultural capital of the realm, the museum complex was located in the heart of the town among other icons like the Chaeremon Museum of Literature and the Apaolaza Art Gallery, and dominated majority of one of Magix City's oldest avenues.

My brows only arched higher when our bus screeched to a stop in front of the station that perched on the edge of the pedestrian plaza that served as the cultural center's front lawn. "What the hell are we doing here?" I softly growled in Candi's ear shortly after we disembarked the bus. I scanned our surroundings. The downtown area was a whirlwind of activity; throngs of tourists were milling around and chattering with excitement, some in Basic, others in foreign languages, snapping pictures of just about everything as their tour guides shepherded them toward their next attraction. Meanwhile, a wide variety of people lounged under a wide variety of multi-colored umbrellas outside the charming cafes across the street, their multitude of voices nearly drowning out the hustle and bustle of traffic. Further down the avenue, shoppers swarmed into boutiques with slogans stenciled to the glass fronts in fashionable off-white. This part of town was the most popular, thus teeming with people, and that was what confused me most. What significance did this place have in Candi's, Ahisa's, and the others' disappearances? It was too open and exposed; there were too many security cameras, too many witnesses for anything suspicious to have gone down without getting reported. It didn't make sense.

Tugging her hood further over her head, Candi shot me a scathing look. "Just shut up and try to keep a low profile."

I scowled at her and I as made to start toward the museums, she jumped in my way. "What's the problem now?" I asked as evenly as I could.

Candi was tight-faced. "Give me your phone," she ordered, holding out her hand expectantly. "All of you."

I froze. "Why?" I demanded lowly, my hand defensively lowering to my pocket.

"What I'm about to show you is extremely top secret. No one else is allowed to know about it—at least, not until we handle it. Until then, I don't want to risk any of you getting cold feet and pulling out your phones to do anything… _compromising_."

Correction: she didn't want to risk us calling for help if things went south.

I stiffened, looking to the others. Alice gave a terse nod, and Flora a helpless shrug. Not wanting to cause a scene, I bared my teeth and yielded my phone to the girl. For Ahisa's sake, I would play her little game. The other two fairies followed suit and when Karel failed to, Candi stared at him almost demandingly.

He almost looked disinterested as he simply said, "I do not own one." The truth, technically. The phone he was carrying now was lent to him by Tecna. Candi narrowed her eyes as if trying to detect the whiff of a lie, but thankfully didn't push it.

She buried our devices in her deep pockets. "I'll give them back once we're done." She gestured toward the archway marking the entrance to museum grounds. "Now c'mon. I don't want to be here any longer than I should."

I glanced between my friends. _Are we really going to do this?_ I received three nods. _Yes._

Alright then. Let's do this.

I tried not to hold my breath as we closely trailed behind Candi onto the expansive grounds boasting Magix City's most popular history museums. There were six in total, Greeklike structural titans that were wholly made of a marble, clashing with the surrounding metropolitan of steel and glass, indicating just how ancient they really were. Sparkly, winding stretches of concrete tiles ran between them and Candi navigated them easily, guiding us to the eastern-most building.

It was crowded as hell but Candi didn't seem to notice. She appeared to be in some kind of daze as she mercilessly jostled through the crowds, her eyes burning with startling determination. It was enough to put me on edge. Candi was never this resolute unless she was up to no good.

The idea of her plotting something put a sinking sensation in my heart, but it immediately lifted in my chest when we turned into the gilded Chamber of Champions. It was full of marble, gold, and ornate trim, and was lined with statues on either side, twelve in total, each one sculpted with masterful precision and intricate detail and tucked in its own roped-off alcove.

The Twelve Champions of the Magic Dimension.

Though I only knew small bits and pieces of Magix history, there was only one story I could recite by heart, and that was the legend of the Twelve Champions. My thoughts veered off course as I recalled it.

They say that long ago, at the beginning of time and after the Great Dragon created the first planet—Linphea—it created the first people to inhabit it: the champions. Since Linphea was the mother realm of nature—it was there where the first plant-and-wildlife thrived, the four seasons were born, and all the environments and ecosystems established—the first denizens of the Magic Dimension, the Champions, were Made from each of its components. They were Made into the living embodiments of nature, the force on which all the realms was built upon.

There were twelve Champions in all, each one born from the energy of the Dragon Flame and a separate element of nature: terra firma (earth), space, thunder, air, ice, water, fire, plants, darkness, sunlight, moonlight, and starlight.

Being the elements incarnate, their bodies made wholly from its everlasting energies, the Champions were granted immortality and governance of the very elements they originated from—thus making them the first and strongest magicians of all time. They were charged with protecting their mother, nature, and spreading their powers. With such tremendous power at their disposal, the Champions had made countless accomplishments over the millennia, which were observed and glorified in folklore all over the MD; they were even considered gods and goddesses in some cultures.

In spite of the situation, my heart gave a little leap of excitement as we approached the exhibit belonging to my favorite Champion. In the lineup of statues, Farcelia Wind-Bear's was situated between the likeness of Ress Ash-Bringer and Siobhan (alternatively spelled as Shavan, Chavan, or Chevonne, depending on the translation) Stream-Strider. In nearly all visual representations of the Thirteen, these three were always depicted together, for they were sisters—the _First_ Sisters. Out of the three, Ress, Champion of Fire and Mother of Fire Magic, was said to have been created first and being fire made flesh, she was a wild, uncontrollable thing whose sole intent was to reduce everything to ashes, to devour then-young Linphea with her ravenous flames to spite the Dragon, who'd bestowed such fearsome, _lonesome_ power on her. Because, although her was wrathful, what really fueled her incentive to destroy was her insufferable solitude. Though three other Champions existed with her at the time, they all shunned Ress thanks to her explosive temper, contributing to her ire and isolation.

The Dragon, who dwelled alongside the Champions at that period, took pity on Ress and gave her something invaluable: the gift of sisterhood. He took a spark of her being and from it Made Farcelia and Chavan from the elements that were Ress's greatest strength and weakness, Air and Water. Their powers were equal and evened each other out and together, they were unstoppable. Not only were they the First Sisters, but alongside the other female (and even a male) Champions, they were the First Fairies. The beginning of many things.

Though it might've been selfish given the circumstances, I allowed myself to become distracted for a second admire and marvel at the model of my idol as we passed through the chamber dedicated to them. As we neared the end, my stomach summersaulted when I recognized two of the last statues.

Aurora and Diana, two of the five Major Fairies on Earth.

Their statues stood side-by-side, exact replicas of their canon designs. Like all the other Champions, they were barefoot with delicately pointed ears, emitting an immortal, warriorlike grace even as stone figures.

How was that possible? How could Diana and Aurora be Champions when they supposedly originated on Earth, _not_ Linphea? Unless Earth fairies didn't exist in this version? I didn't know, nor did I care. I shoved them out of my mind as we exited the exhibit and refocused on the task at hand.

After more twists and turns and some stealthy maneuvering, it wasn't before we managed to sneak inside the kitchen thanks to Candi's craftiness. From there, we accessed the wine cellar, where Candi removed a jeroboam from its place on the large-format bottle rack on a middle shelf, and placed it in an empty berth on the shelf below. This triggered some kind of counter-weighted latch at the back to release. She then pushed the entire rack, which rested on sliders that slid in undetectable grooves on the floor, to the side, revealing a small, bare, stale-smelling room. What the hell…?

Candi ushered us inside and after she slid the rack into place, she bent down and used her nails to pry up a large tile that was flush with the rest of the floor. A trap door.

Underneath it was a vertical passageway down, lit with candles that aligned the stone walls. An underground tunnel. _That_ wasn't a good sign.

"You want us to go down _there_?" I wrinkled my nose as warning bells pealed in my mind. Why was this even here?

"Yes," replied Candi, "the object we seek was buried under the museum long before the building itself was built."

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Tecna's drone crawling on the ceiling. Whatever was underground needed to be filmed as evidence, but the only way the drone would explore the tunnel was if we guided it down there.

A cold phantom wind slithered up the staircase and as it brushed against me, I swore it whispered a warning in my ear. A shudder trembled through me. Whatever waited down there definitely wasn't pleasant.

I turned to Candi. "Flora stays here," I said firmly.

Before Candi could protest, Flora shook her head and said, "No way. I'm coming with you guys."

I glared steel at her. "Absolutely not."

Emotion flashed across the nature fairy's face. "Why not?"

Because you're easily frightened, fragile, and I don't want you to get hurt anymore than you already have, I wanted to say. But instead, I said, "I have a bad feeling about this—it smells like a setup. For all we know, she could be planning to deliver us straight to the cultist freaks that're behind all this." And if she was, Tecna would get it all on film and notify the police ASAP. Considering the authorities were stomped and lead-less and Saladin and Faragonda—who were no doubt collaborating with each other behind closed doors to solve the mystery of their disappearing students—probably hadn't made any progress, either, that was the only way to get legitimate answers and end this ordeal. But we'd have to gamble our safety (and possibly our lives) in the process, and that was a sacrifice I didn't want Flora to make.

Candi lifted a hand like she was about to take a pledge. "I swear this isn't a setup," she promised, that helpless desperation creeping into the edges of her tone again. I took a second to personally stomp out the spark of pity that had flickered to life deep inside of me. Though I would admit she sounded sincere, I refused to feel sorry for her. If she truly was throat-deep in shit like I'd inferred, she deserved to suffer. No sympathy for the wicked.

Karel pegged Candi with a stare. "You swear on your life?"

Candi flinched at his deep voice but nodded, throat bobbing. "I swear on my life this isn't a trap," she said, voice wobbling.

Karel studied her for a moment before coolly nodding. "Good. Bad things come to those who break their promises." Candi, who'd heard the threat loud and clear, bristled and nodded again.

"C'mon," she said, gesturing toward the stairs. "We don't have much time left."

"Before what?" asked Alice and I simultaneously, though neither of us particularly wanted the answer.

There was no light, no mischievous gleam in Candi's eyes as she said, "Before they resurrect her." Not waiting to see our reactions, she turned and stalked down the stairs.

My mouth went Sahara dry as ice coated my blood. A _resurrection_? What had we gotten ourselves into? Now that Tecna's theory had been proven correct a second time, I was starting to get second thoughts. I wasn't the only one; Flora's face was alarmingly pale. "Maybe we shouldn't go through with this," I said, only half-hating myself for suggesting something so cowardly. You didn't fuck with this kind of shit. "We should just call the police and let them handle it instead."

Alice shook her head. "I disagree. Doing so would only jeopardize us and the victims." Though I didn't want to admit it, she was right. We'd already heard and seen too much. If we tried to bail now, who knows what she'd do. Or who she'd send after us. All to save her own ass, to keep us from talking.

"Maybe she really is trying to do the right thing," said Flora quietly, but not softly. I honestly hoped so. Otherwise, we were screwed.

I shrugged, and there was nothing casual about it. "Only one way to find out." I half-turned and stared right at the drone, straight into the camera. "Don't fail us, Tecna."

And then we set out after Candi.

Karel took the head of the group with me not close behind, followed by Flora and then Alice. We descended the stairs in single file, the light from the burning torches casting our exaggerated shadows on the stone.

The stairs widened toward the bottom, revealing a short hallway with a single iron door. It was gouged with what looked like claw marks, another sign of potential danger. A shudder trembled through me.

Candi held her breath, studying our faces. "Are you ready for this?"

No.

"Yes," I breathed, answering on behalf of everyone else.

Candi nodded mutely, turned, and slowly eased the door open.

It groaned on squeaky, rusty hinges, slowly to a cavernous chamber.

Candi was the only one who dared to go in; the rest of us hovered at the doorway, inspecting the space beyond.

For starters, the whole thing was composed of mud brick. And etched into them from the floor to the low ceilings were symbols and ancient drawings of things like eyes, ankhs, and winged disks—hieroglyphics, I recognized. Trying not to linger on the ones that kind of resembled the Prince of Darkness, my eyes drank up the rest of the scene, heart thundering. Apart from a few clay pots, the only other items in the room were two bronze statues of spear-clutching men with dog heads that flanked a stone slab. And atop it was a long, golden box that kind of looked like—a sarcophagus.

My breath caught as the truth dawned on me.

"This is a tomb," whispered Alice. Though the culture might've been foreign, the presence of the sarcophagus said enough.

Candi circled around the box in the winking torchlight—why the hell were they burning in the first place? Who set them ablaze? "Who would've thought," she mused, drawing a line through the dust that coated the lid of the sarcophagus as she traced a finger down its length, "that the ancient architects who designed this place built it right on top of an ancient tomb. They sure didn't."

"Explain this," ordered Karel, his voice quiet steel. He had the right to be alarmed. Taking us to the museum was one thing, bringing us to forgotten crypt was a whole other. We were trespassing on the grounds of someone's final resting place. Disturbing the dead was not only disrespectful, but in this world of magic, witches, warlocks, curses, and spirits, it could dangerous.

My voice was just above a whisper as I flicked a finger toward the sarcophagus and asked, "Whose—whose remains are those, Candi?"

She paused and stared at us. There was nothing but cold dread in those eyes. "Lamya the Asp."

Never heard of her. Judging how confusion contorted the others' faces, they hadn't either. Thankfully, Candi was willing to elaborate. "They say that many millennia ago, back when the Prince of Darkness still walked the realms—" Ice skittered across my bones at the mention of Darkar. "—he had many infamous underlings, one of them being Lamya. While Darkar created most of his servants from his own black magic, he recruited a dark princess who belonged to an ancient civilization on a foreign planet." An Egyptian princess from Planet Earth.

Candi grimly continued, "According to legend, Lamya became his high priestess and most loyal servant. Some historians even believe they were lovers at one point. Out of all of Darkar's minions, Lamya was the worse. She commanded his armies and hunted and obliterated all of his enemies with a snake's cunning. Darkar was her god, and she devoted her whole heart, mind, and soul to him. They say she even built a temple in his honor with the bones of the people she devoured." In the figurative sense, I hoped.

"What does this have to do with the abducted students?" asked Alice quietly. Nausea gripped me. _Sacrifices,_ Candi had said.

Candi wouldn't look at the ice fairy. "Eventually, the Twelve Champions interfered with Darkar's plans to plunge the dimension into darkness," she went on, "right before the Princess of Darkness vanished out of existence, Farcelia Wind-Bearer and her sister Ress Ash-Bringer met Lamya and her forces on the killing field. The battle was catastrophic and there were countless causalities, but the Champions emerged victorious in the end. The textbooks say they succeeded in killing Lamya, leaving her to bleed out on that legendary battlefield. Later, Darkar found her body and as a token of gratitude for all she'd done for him, he followed the burial practices of whatever culture Lamya had come from and mummified her remains. As a parting gift, he built her tomb—" She gestured around the chamber. "—and laid her to rest there. _Here._ Though they searched, the ancient historians and scholars were never able to pin-point her final resting place. In fact, no one could, not even the Champions. Until now."

 _Before they resurrect her,_ Candi had said.

She finally faced us, and there was no trace of the haughty, self-absorbed girl who held herself like a queen, and treated everyone else like her peasants. The girl standing before us now was frightened, powerless. Her voice hitched as she said, "Somehow, a group of Lamya's followers discovered the location of her remains—that's how I knew where to find this place. There's a dark, forbidden spell that can revive Lamya and—and—"

"They've found it and they're kidnapping teenagers to use as scarifies to restore their master to life," I choked out, staving off panic. The words tasted foul in my mouth.

"The spell requires the harvested energy of several souls. That's—that's where the victims come in," clarified Candi quietly.

Suddenly, Flora looked very faint. Alice paled, and I swore colorfully. I was sure that Tecna, who was still watching us through the lens of her drone, was repulsed, too.

"Why the Steass District?" asked Karel, still stone-faced as Flora leaned into me for support. "Lamya's worshippers could've easily stolen people from anywhere, but they drew attention to themselves by only targeting this area. It does not make sense."

Candi gave a tense shrug. "I don't know all the details, and I personally don't care about them. All I'm concerned about is ensuring they don't have all the necessary components for their spell."

But how? From what I gathered, the zealots already had everything but—

It was then I fully understood.

I felt the color drain from my cheeks. "You're crazy," I squeaked, suddenly somewhat lightheaded. "Candi, we can't help you destroy a _corpse_!" This was _not_ what I signed up for.

Her eyes were pleading. "Please. We have to do this. Lamya cannot be allowed to reawaken or else everything will go to hell. I took a big risk sneaking down here earlier to do it myself, but the coffin is encrypted with some kind of protection spell. I think one of my captors warded it until they can take it to their hideout. I couldn't break it by myself, so I figured it would take all of our magic to—"

"Are you _crazy_?" I hissed at her. "What happens when the bastards figure who ruined things for them?What happens to victims then? What happens to _us_?"

"I don't know—"

"We're leaving," I announced firmly, seizing Flora's arm. No way in hell were we going to endanger ourselves any more than we already had. We had enough recorded evidence; all we'd have to do was turn it in to Faragonda and company and they'd handle it instead. There was no point in entangling ourselves in this bullshit.

Candi went white. "But—"

Thankfully, Karel backed me up. "What you're asking of us is too extreme of request," he said, regarding her coldly. "It is beyond what we are capable of. We do not even know if you speak the truth. Frankly, your story has too many loose ends—" He paused in midsentence, his whole body going rigid in alarm. He acted so fast, his hand was almost a blur as he reached for the hilt clipped to his belt and expanded the phantoblade to its full length. He slid his piercing slid behind Candi, at the corner on the far right. "Show yourself," he growled at the mass of shadows that had gathered there.

I went still as a lamppost, my skin prickling with horror as an unsettling curtain of cold pressed down on the room so thick I felt it deep in my bones. A feathery, honeyed laugh flitted through the room, and my heart leapt into my throat.

 _Someone was in here with us._

To my horror, the shadows on the wall lengthened to the full height and form of a person—and peeled itself off the stone. A dark aura rippled around it for a second and then lifted, revealing a man.

My breath lodged in my throat as my eyes beheld him.

The man was pale, tall—even taller than Karel—and strikingly handsome with high cheekbones, a sharp nose, and a curtain of hair that cascaded down his back like a stream of midnight. His ebony, layered tunic was brocaded with whorls of grey and silver and accented with the same feathers that patterned the strong, folded pair of ravenlike wings that sprouted from his backside. His eyes—crimson irises with cat-slit pupils—fell on Candi and glittered with wicked amusement.

Candi's face sheeted white. "A-Alvaz—"

Alvaz stepped out of the shadows and into the torchlight with languid grace, displaying his pearly whites in a lazy grin. "I thought I'd find you here, Cadence," he said. His voice was like cream; light and rich. At the sound of it, ice skittered across my bones and Flora whimpered from behind me.

This man was dangerous.

Though he may not look it with that beautifully calm face, there was an unholy aura pulsing around him so strong I could nearly see it. His presence suffocated the whole chamber, and I almost choked on it.

Karel stalked closer to the stranger, the tip of his nondescript blade aimed straight at the stranger's heart. "Who are you?" he demanded, every part of him on high alert.

I know we needed to run, but I could not get my legs to budge. Beside me, Flora had withered like a dead houseplant. Alice inched closer to us, her glacial eyes never leaving Alvaz.

His eyes swept over us. "And you bought friends," he purred at Candi, completely disregarding the Specialist. "How delightful."

I pried my gaze away from Alvaz to pin Candi, who'd frozen in place, with a stare. "You know this bastard?" I snarled, head swimming in confusion. Candi opened her mouth, but no words came out. Instead, her panicked eyes darted between us and Alvaz, us and Alvaz.

"It's you," said Flora weakly, her barely audible voice surprising me as she stared over my shoulder at Alvaz, "you're the one who kidnapped her."

Candi looked ready to puke as Alvaz turned his attention to us, again looking straight past Karel as if he wasn't standing a few feet away, poised to drive his sword deep into the warlock's chest. Alvaz's brows lifted with genuine surprise. "Is that what she told you?" Noting our confusion, he tipped his head back and gave an effortless, amused laugh. "You really have them fooled, don't you darling?" he silkily said to Candi.

I felt a stab of suspicion. "What is he talking about, _Cadence?_ " I asked lowly, eyes boring a hole into the shank. I noticed how she'd put some distance between us, how she refused to meet my eyes. Guilt creased her face as she squirmed under the weight of my stare, mouth drawn in a tight line.

Oh god.

"Start talking. _Now_ ," ordered Alice, her voice taking on a hard edge I'd never heard before.

"Yes, dear. Why don't you explain to your friends how you've been taking them fools?" drawled Alvaz, who hadn't moved an inch. Candi made to say something, but the warlock cut her off. "Wait, hold that thought." Before anyone could react, he flung out a hand and a wave of dark energy sliced through the air far over our heads. Flora cried out, but I didn't duck—he'd thrown the energy too high; its range was too long.

The blast clearly hadn't been meant for us, but I pretended to know otherwise, pretended not to notice that the attack had hit its mark anyway.

I also pretended that I didn't hear Tecna's ladybug drone sizzle and fry in the current of dark magic.

" _Now_ you can talk," said Alvaz, his hand retreating back inside his sleeve as quickly as he'd pulled it out. He flashed a smirk at me, and my heart accelerated.

He'd known.

He'd known Tecna was spying on us. But how, when Candi never even suspected…?

I nudged Flora with my elbow. Run, _run._ But the fairy had locked up on me.

My hand instinctively went to my pocket and when I discovered it empty, I instantly remembered: Candi had all of our phones. We could not call for help.

 _Dammit._

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" crooned Alvaz when Candi remained unresponsive. "Or would you rather _I_ tell of your wicked little deeds?"

That was when the truth punched me in the gut.

This guy—Alvaz—was a part of that cult working to revive Lamya the Asp.

And Candi was his subordinate.

"You lied," I managed to choke out. I took a tentative step back, forcing Flora to do the same. "You were never kidnapped, were you? That whole sob story you told us was _bullshit_."

Karel, whose backside still faced us as he sized-up Alvaz like a jungle cat waiting to pounce, did not flinch if he was surprised.

Candi's face only affirmed what I feared.

"So this really was a trap," whispered Flora.

"Actually, that is false, "said Alvaz matter-of-factly. Though his smile did not wane, there was a dangerous light in his eyes as he darted a stare at Candi. "The little traitor really did intend to destroy Lady Lamya's body, but not for the reasons you think. She didn't want to save the worlds from darkness—no, she only wanted to save herself. From the bargain _she_ struck with me."

"Of course I wanted to protect myself," blurted Candi, now shaking with rage or fear."I didn't want to be leashed to some undead whore for the rest of my life!"

Alvaz clicked his tongue. "Now now, you have no one to blame for that but yourself." He made to take a step in her direction, but Karel growled warningly. The warlock just casted a playful look at him before refocusing on Candi. "I don't understand why you won't come to terms with your fate. It's too late for you, dear—especially after what you did to those poor high school students."

Alice flinched, and it was a miracle Flora's legs hadn't buckled yet.

It felt like someone struck me with a rod.

 _Especially after what you did to those poor high school students._

I planted my feet to keep myself steady, yet another truth echoing in my head. I lifted my bugged eyes met Candi's. Guilt pooled in them, and I knew.

Alvaz and his pals didn't take Ahisa.

Candi did.

She hadn't been abducted; she'd been the one _doing_ the abducting. I'd already assumed the first part, but to know Flora and Musa had only suffered because—

Rage overwhelmed me.

"What did you do?" I bellowed, my voice grating on the walsl. I would've charged at her if Flora hadn't managed to hold me back. _"What did you do?"_ Shame and agony flooded Candi's face, and my blood roared in my ears.

"Oh, you mean she didn't tell you?" Alvaz cocked an eyebrow, once again feigning surprise. "Candi was recruited to find sacrifice's for Lady Lamya's resurrection."

I could not speak, could not make words. I'd forgotten all about fleeing. My heart was spitting flame.

"H-how?" stammered Alice, posing the question I couldn't wrap my head around. There was no way Candi's dainty ass could've taken Ahisa, even by force. And how did she manage to overpower Bishop Bornebolt, a freaking _Specialist?_ It didn't make sense.

"How? That's a good question," purred Alvaz, relishing in our bewilderment and conflicted feelings. She had help, but not from us. " I felt a story coming on and sure enough, the warlock launched into a tale. "Here's another history lesson: long ago, back when the Princess of Darkness was at war with the Twelve Champions, Lady Lamya had control of a beast called the Bloodhound, a horrific creature born from the void itself. It was so ferocious, so fearsome, no one, not even the Champions, could defeat it. So instead, during the Final Battle between good and evil on Linphea, they managed to lure it into their snare and seal it away for good. They forced it into eternal slumber and to ensure that no one ever found it, they brought it to a secret location and buried the Bloodhound deep underground, bounding it to the then-uninhabited land so it could never wreak havoc again. As time move on, the Guardians the Champions entrusted their secret with forgot about the Bloodhound's existence and allowed their people to build a city on the very grounds the monster dwelled under: Steass."

My mind reeled. Was it a coincidence the Bloodhound _and_ its mistress were laid to rest in such close proximity to each other?

Alvaz continued, "The Bloodhound remained dormant for millennia—until a certain fairy and her comrades found its whereabouts and restored it to its former glory."

None of us breathed.

"They've been unleashing it at night to hunt down candidates for our little project. Though they were able to set it loose, they could not break the spell leashing the beast to this land, thus the reason all the disappearances occurred here and only here."

The revelation ran through my head over and over as I trembled furiously. Slowly, I turned to face her. The coward had shrunk back into a corner all the way on the other side of the chamber, looking pathetically small and helpless.

Liar.

Manipulator.

Bitch.

 _Monster._

The final shreds of self-control slipped away of me, and I lunged at her with blind hatred.

I was going to make her _regret_ ever approaching us on that street.

I heard Flora scream over the roaring in my head and before I knew what was happening, dark power was slamming into my side, setting half of my body on fire.

The impact threw me off course, sending me flying across the room. I reacted on instinct, shifting into my fairy form and using my wings to catch myself before I could collide with the wall. I straightened in midair, geared up for a fight.

By the time I whirled around, Karel was already peeling himself off the ground, reaching for his fallen weapon as Candi cowered in the corner and Alvaz descended on Alice and Flora like a black storm.

The ice fairy leapt in front of Flora, flinging out a hand to throw a barrage of ice arrows at the bastard. The ice was intercepted by a wall of darkness and suddenly, Alvaz was upon her, blasting her with black power.

Luckily, Flora managed to scamper out of the way just in time. _"Run,"_ I yelled at her, throwing a Wondrous Wind spell at the dark sorcerer.

A nanosecond later, she was making a beeline for the door and when I knew she reached the stairs, I spun around to find gloom clouding my vision.

Before I got a chance to blink, it ended up sailing squarely into my chest and knocking the wind straight out of my lungs. I sailed uncontrollably, my body screaming at me as I crashed into a wall head-first.

I fell limp to the floor, my head throbbing with pain. As black dots stamped out my vision, I saw a storm of lightning bolts streak through the air. Alice, who I'd assumed unconscious, was throwing an ice javelin.

She was shouting something—my name, I think—but everything sounded like static as my own consciousness slipped away from me.

And then everything went black.


	30. Revelations, Part 2

**A/n: *SPOILER ALERT*** _ **Skip over this if you don't want my insensitive ass ruining season's eight premiere for you.**_

 **Rainbow,** _ **what have you done?**_

 **I check tumblr regularly for season eight spoilers, and what I find never ceases to amaze. For starters, Riven is returning (as expected. I'm actually glad he wasn't in cringeworthy season 7). The new transformation has officially been dubbed as 'Cosmix", which is way better than 'Starlix', I'll admit. The Winx are set to have a space adventure with the aid of some kind of chibi-like thing called Twinkle (Twinkly?) I honestly feel like season 8 is supposed to be similar to** _ **Sailor Moon's**_ **Infinity Arc but** _ **anyway—**_

 **What pisses me off is that Flora's cosmix has been retconed. In the first promos, her transformation was all pink with a pair of open-toe boots and a glittery purple headband—it was actually pretty cute. But** _ **now,**_ **Flora's cosmix is a basic pinkish top and a** _ **hideous**_ **green skirt that totally contrasts the style of Bloom's, Stella's, Musa's** _ **and**_ **Tecna's (the latter two's cosmix has just been unveiled, and it's actually pretty cute. I don't know how I feel about Tecna's though. Wasn't green originally Aisha's signature color?) And speaking of Aisha, her transformation was shown shortly before Musa's and Tecna's, and it's unsatisfactorily similar to Flora's; ultimately nothing special. I hope the fairy forms we've seen Aisha and Flora in so far are either prototypes, or the pre-cosmix transformation. It's bad enough both of them have been whitewashed—we don't need them having the ugliest transformations, too.**

 **What riled me up the most, though, is the fact** _ **Valtor**_ **is making his comeback in the new season.** _ **What the hell, Rainbow?**_ **Why couldn't you just leave him be? Valtor in season 3 was a true badass—how the hell are we supposed to tolerate him in this new Ever After High-esque animation? (Speaking of EAH, I just recently published a crossover between it and Winx Club called** _ **Sisters in Flame.**_ **I hope you'll check it out!)**

 **It's not that I hate season eight as a whole; I just hate how Rainbow is disgracing the cartoon we all fell in love with. I mean,** _ **c'mon!**_ **The girls' personal style is basically nonexistent at this point—and all their new faces look the same! I mean, at least we had** _ **some**_ **variation in Ever After High. For crying out loud, Musa's barely Japanese anymore! Season 8 is supposed to be the series' redemption after shit-awful season 7, but I'm just not seeing it; not at the rate the overall cartoon is de-evolving.**

 ***SPOILERS/RANT OVER***

 **Sorry for updating so late. I've learned that with writing, like everything else, it's best not to rush your work; not if you want quality. I get the best feedback when I put more time into each chapter, like w/ the last one. It took me two freakin' months to rewrite chapter 29, but it earned me twelve favorites, which I find exceptional for a no-name author who belongs to such an unpopular fandom.**

 **Well, here's the revamped chapter 30. A lot of you guys have been asking for it ever since I deleted the first edition, so I hope you enjoy! The best is yet to come~**

* * *

 _(Third Person POV) _

Alvaz's disgust was as infinite as the contiguous black stone.

He flapped his ebony, robust wings a few times, swatting away the miniscule pests that'd glued themselves to them ever since he warped into Obsidian, the colorless, forlorn world where the only sounds were woeful moans and wails. His wings were immediately relived of the nibbling sensations, a reprieve that would not last long. In a few minutes or so, the _ilztzy,_ the soul-sucking, netherworld-borne insects charged with draining the detainees of their character and resolve, would inevitably come droning back, the instinct to feed trumping their initial fear. They'd evoked much antipathy in Alvaz during his extended stay in this vast void of barrenness.

Surveying all he'd left behind seven years ago, the warlock kept an even, unhurried stride as he journeyed through the ravine, undaunted by the grotesque black-glass formations protruding out of the dull, inorganic ground. Or the lost, long-gone travelers impaled to them. Far too often, an internally tormented prisoner would hurl themselves off a cliff and plummet to their violent, jagged death, deeming death a more suitable fate than enduring this grueling punishment any longer. A waste, if you asked Alvaz. Those faint-hearted, suicidal fools were better off in Obsidian, especially since their souls just ended up someplace worse. But then again, not everyone possessed Alvaz's stamina. When it came to psychological stability, he was superior to all. Lady Lamya had made sure of that; after all, what good was a fragile-minded lieutenant? All of her… _conditioning_ had rendered Alvaz's psyche as unbreakable as steel, hence the reason he'd been able to survive this shithole for several _millennia._ An all-time record. No one in the whole history of this wretched place had ever lasted that long without succumbing to its poisonous effects. If the Champions were still around, Alvaz would've laughed in their face before spitting on it. It was their hope Obsidian would reduce him to a demoralized husk when they banished him, but _ha!_ Jokes on them. Once Lady Lamya was back to her old malevolent, vibrant self, Alvaz would see to it that they all experienced this disconsolate shithole firsthand.

Alvaz wended his way down the road's treacherous meander, easily maneuvering around its perilous obstacles/ death traps. He knew all of Obsidian like the back of his hand; he could travel any path with his eyes closed while being fully aware of where he was going and what was in his way.

If it was up to him, he wouldn't have stepped foot in this gods-awful prison ever again. Nonetheless, a vital component of their plan lied here, and he was the only one qualified to fetch it.

Much to his begrudging advantage, this place hadn't changed a bit since his phenomenal escape nearly a decade ago. Apart from the increase of damned souls, everything was pretty much the same. It was kind of disappointing. You'd think by now the forces haunting Obsidian would come down from the gloomy heavens—in the thousands of years Alvaz inhabited these nightmarish lands, he'd never once seen even a _trickle_ of sky peek through the rage-swollen ash clouds—to greet and bind him to the realm once more, or that one of his old inmates would crawl out of their miserable hole to come kick his ass for robbing them of their only chance of freedom. But no, nothing. The ancient gatekeeper hadn't been tasked with babysitting the prisoners, and it wasn't like Alvaz had any comrades left. After the end of First War at the start of time, the Champions, the then-rulers of the worlds, had exiled the Prince of Darkness's most notorious warlords to Obsidian while his second-rate underlings got sentenced to the Omega Dimension (a milder, icy version of Obsidian). Everyone Alvaz had gone in with was either lost, dead, or a conflicted, bodiless spirit. Good riddance. They were destined to waste away here anyway. Alvaz on other hand had vowed to prevail, even if it meant being chained to this godsforsaken dimension for several thousand years before his opportunity came.

He could still recall that glorious moment, the overpowering jubilation when the Rift appeared. He didn't know how or why but exactly seven years ago, whatever barricade that held Obsidian together and isolated it from the other dimensions temporarily split. Alvaz, by either a turn of fortune or Fate, had been nearby when he spotted a splinter in the sky, a chink in the clouds. He'd immediately known what it offered: _freedom._ His time had finally arrived and he reacted on instinct, still half-submerged in disbelief as he spread his wings and charged at that beckoning sliver of hope. The dark spirits that polluted the atmosphere had tried to rein him in, do everything in their power to keep him under alongside their vile existence, but he managed to overcome them and slip through the opening just as it was stitching itself back up. Shortly after, he landed on the Other Side, now-modern Magix, returning to the majestic world of colors, taste, weather, sensations, and civilization. Triumphant, he'd lifted his hands to the blue sky and roared. Though Alvaz had never been religious, he praised the dark god that day. After sleeping for days on end, wolfing down goliath portions of food, and bedding more than enough women to remind himself of what life was like pre-exile, he carefully gathered his resources and concocted a plan for revenge. This trip would complete the final piece of it, the sole reason the warlock had been willing to tolerate this hell one final time.

As he proceeded deeper into the gorge, he smirked to himself when he spotted a familiar figure perched on the stone structure ahead. Of course he was still sitting there. He'd been frozen in the same spot ever since the ghosts of those old hags dragged him here all those years ago. Alvaz assumed he'd been a king before crossing the border into these inescapable parts; his armor bore a royal crest, similar to dragons carved into the hilt of his regal sword. It hadn't taken him long to figure out _which_ king.

"I thought I'd find you here," he purred to the disheveled man, pausing to inspect him as he mechanically beat his wings together, repelling the swarm of _ilztzy_ that'd taken to them again.

The Nameless King didn't bat an eye at the newcomer of the _ilztzy's_ ubiquitous presence. The pests didn't appear to be attracted to him. Of course they weren't; they were drawn to resilience the way mosquitoes were drawn to blood. Their sole task was to drink their victims dry of all positive energies, leaving nothing but the negative in their wake to really enhance the Obsidian experience. But when your soul was already wounded and disheartened beyond repair, they completely overlooked you.

"How's the wife?" drawled Alvaz, looking to the sword.

The Nameless King subconsciously rested a protective hand on its pommel, though he was still spaced out, staring out into nothingness with opaque eyes. Alvaz didn't expect anything less; he'd been in this same state, same _position_ for nearly two decades. There really wasn't any need to. In Obsidian, the body was nulled, robbed of nearly all its natural functions, everything it meant to be alive. It did not experience hunger, exhaustion, or even lust (not that any of these cretins were even worth giving a second glance); the realm's dark matter-laced air was enough to sustain it.

When the dark-haired king refused to answer, Alvaz went on his way. No point in talking to that shell of a man. He was tethered to this realm like the broken animal he was.

The warlock quickly advanced through the drab landscape; it was only a matter of time before the dimension tried to claim him again. As soon as he retrieved what he needed, he'd warp back out before it was too late.

Eventually, the ravine ended in a cave. _The_ cave.

Alvaz didn't think twice before he descended into its bowels, well aware that the absolute worst of the worst were imprisoned deep within them (it was somewhat of an insult that _he_ didn't get banished there). He didn't heed their deafening silence as he progressed into a makeshift chamber of rocks and boulders. He came up to one of the slabs of iron that served as doors, using a spell to slide it out of place.

The being huddled in the corner slowly lifted their face to face him.

"Alvaz," they said, lips breaking into a triumphant smile.

The warlock's lips tugged up into a lazy grin. "Tell the wolves I'm home."

* * *

...

 _( Acadia's POV)_

" _Are you out of your godsdamned mind?"_

My dream opened to that line.

Prior to this, my mental ears opened before my mental eyes and for a while, I just floated in the void that was my mind, enveloped in gloom and a chorus of voices. I didn't have a voice or even a body of my own, so for the longest I just drifted aimlessly in whatever direction my active mind steered me in. Through some unexplainable sense, I knew I was trapped in my own head and had a physical, slumbering body I could wake into, but was unaware of it at the same time. It was like I knew about my human being, but at the same time it didn't exist, didn't matter since I lacked access to it. For reasons I couldn't remember in this condition, I'd been disconnected from Physical Me until Mental Me released its grip on Subconscious Me.

The chorus of voices was memories, I realized. But only the audio, not the visuals, replayed in a dark corner of my mind. I could tell the loudest of the memories were the freshest; unlike majority of the others, the playback was smooth and undistorted. I was psychologically awake enough to discern some of the voices, and who they belonged to. One was Flora's, the other Candi's. The dominating one was thick, male, and incredibly sensual. I couldn't remember his name, or how'd he earned a top spot in my most recent memories in the first place. All I knew was that my echoic recollection of him provoked the slightest hint of hatred in this otherwise impassive state I was in.

Nonetheless, I quickly forgot about it as I slipped into some kind of dream state. At least I think it was a dream. Whatever plane of my psyche I was now plummeting into felt too unfamiliar to be another hallway of memories.

" _Are you out of your godsdamned mind?"_

I don't know whose voice was that or why the hell I was hearing it, but it involuntarily sucked me into a dream of some sort. Or a memory. Or a dream of a memory. Or a memory of a dream. I couldn't say for sure; when it came to the functions of the mind, the lines seemed to blur.

All I knew was that I went through some kind of a tunnel and the next thing I knew, I was standing in front of a door. A mahogany door.

I tried to turn my head to see where I was, but I couldn't. It was one of those dreams when you couldn't move your mental body—you just had to watch and wait it out.

A hand— _my_ hand, I think. I couldn't see it that clearly—reached out and pushed the door ajar to eavesdrop on the heated conversation taking place on the other side. I—or whoever's eyes I was seeing through—was low to ground, so I all I could see through the opening was the back of a towering wingback chair, which was seated before a heavy oak desk. Thanks to my height, I could not see who was seated in the former, and who was seated behind the latter.

A hearth was cackling.

" _Do not speak to me like that_ , _husband_ ," said a different, more composed voice. A woman. _"It's already been decided."_

" _In case you've forgotten,_ wife, _I have as much say in the matter as you, and I say this is_ bullshit _,"_ fumed the voice from earlier. A man. And from the sounds of it, he was majorly pissed. _"Do you even hear yourself?"_

" _Calm yourself. You are being irrational,"_ scolded a third voice that made something inside my form flutter.

 _Mom?_

I tried to will my uncooperative legs forward, to get them to carry me inside so I could behold the face I'd come to miss these past few months, but they would not respond. I attempted to look down to see if I even _had_ legs in this dream, but not even my head would obey. I was completely paralyzed. I would've cursed if I could. Speaking of cursing, the man was doing his fair share of it.

" _Irrational my ass! You have no right to lecture me about my godsdamned temper when_ you're _threatening to—"_

" _That is enough, both of you,"_ cut in the woman who wasn't my mother, voice like a razor. _"It's late. I don't have the patience or energy to further entertain your dispute. We will continue this discussion in the morning."_

Someone broke something.

" _Dammit, Gen! How can you be so—so_ heartless? _What woman would willingly ship her own flesh and blood off to some bat-shit crazy Southside whore—"_

" _How dare you!"_ seethed the woman with Mom's voice, followed by the harsh scraping of chair legs against the floor and the sound of skin striking skin, a slap.

All hell must've broke loose next because a chair sailed past the door and violently crashed into the wall, ensued by wrathful shouts and shattering glass.

At this point, I felt myself slipping away. I tried to hold on to the dream by sheer force of will, but it was already fading away like wisps of smoke, I was already waking up…

...

My head felt like someone had poured cement inside—thick and churning.

Shadows and fragmented memories danced in my head as consciousness slowly came creeping back to me, as I became uncomfortably aware of the freezing, slick surface biting my skin.

Where the hell was I...?

Once I regained feeling in my hands, I planted them on the ground to catch something fuzzy between my fingers. Huh?

Peeling my tongue off the roof of my mouth and digging my nails into whatever material I lied on, I mustered some strength and heaved my upper half up off the floor, giving my new surroundings a weak once over through splintered vision.

The first things I beheld were stone and hair.

Startled, my blurry eyes devoured the whole scene at once.

I zeroed in on the mass of silvery-blue tresses spilt across the floor like a frozen river and traced it to the scalp of the girl passed out on the other side of the small space. My gaze raked up the length of her, from her silver high-tops to her belly-baring winter jacket to her usually cruel face that was now serene with unconsciousness—

 _Icy._

Not wanting to worsen my headache, I chose not to linger on her, eyes instead roaming over the tight space we occupied.

So much stone.

We were encircled by nothing but old, gray, mossy stone; floor, ceiling, walls. Save the wisps of stale straw strewn across the floor, the room was bare and reeked of cat piss. I fixed my eyes on the door; iron, arched, heavy, and reinforced with steel. The only light came from some kind of glowing orb anchored to the wall above it, its dim golden light casting creepy shadows along the walls. I then realized just how small and cramped the windowless room was; there was just barely enough space for me to stretch my legs out to their full length. It only took me a second to perceive the truth:

I— _we_ were in a cell.

How the _hell_ did I get here?

And just like magic, everything came flooding back to me: Candi's deception, Alvaz's beautiful face and immense power, Alice's and I's defeat. I remembered being beaten by that unnaturally handsome warlock, I remembered being swallowed up by his insanely powerful black magic. And the pain...

Just the memories of that unfathomable agony weighed my eyelids to the point I couldn't hold them open anymore, my legs to the point they felt like pillars of granite. I felt myself sinking back to the ground.

And then I gave in to the darkness.

...

I had no idea how much time passed while I was out; I just know I was in exact same place I had been before I fainted (the second time).

And so was Icy.

I wondered how she got here. Candi, who was proven to be acquainted with the Trix, must've sniffed her out as another sacrifice for the ritual. And if she was here, her sisters couldn't be far.

The witch was still out cold, lying across the stone of the floor with a deceptively peaceful face. I wondered long she'd— _we'd_ be here. Wherever "here" was.

As I picked myself up and blinked away the film in my eyes, my first instinct was to get my phone to call for help and see what time, what _day_ it was. However, right as I was reaching for my empty pocket, I had a flashback of me, Alice, and Flora handing our phones over to Candi.

 _Dammit._ So calling for reinforcements was out of the question. I cursed myself for ever trusting that whore. When this was over, she was going to _pay._

I shoved Candi out of my mind before temper triggered. She didn't matter right now. At the moment, the only thing that was important was breaking out of here. But first, I had to get my shit together.

With a throbbing head—I think I had a mild concussion— I braced myself against the wall, giving myself a moment to fully regain consciousness and some strength. Once I was lucid enough, I rose and while carefully avoiding Icy, took a few steps back—which wasn't far considering the size of this shithole—and prepared to hurl a Wondrous Wind spell straight at the door.

It took longer than usual to gather the energy in my hands, but there was force behind the spell when I hurled it squarely at the door. It should've blown it straight off its hinges, but something entirely different happened. Though the beam hit the iron at full speed, it didn't collide at full strength. Instead, it just… _soaked_ into the iron. Like the mineral drunk it up.

The _hell?_

I tried again and got the same outcome. Tried _again_ and the same thing occurred.

Why wasn't my damn magic working on this thing?!

My heartbeat accelerated as panic engulfed me. What was wrong with me? Clearly Alvaz and company hadn't harvested my mana yet—after all, I could still use magic. So what was the problem?

After about ten more unsuccessful attempts at breaking down the door, I faced up to the truth: my magic had weakened. I hadn't fully recovered from Alvaz's ambush, so my powers were currently inefficient. That or the cell was somehow immune to it. Either way, I wasn't getting out anytime soon.

I leaned against the wall and sunk to the ground, hopeless and defeated and somewhat dizzy. My mind was a cacophony of turmoil. Where the hell was this place? How long had I been out? Where the fuck were my friends? My throat constricted with fear as I thought reflected on those final moments before I hit my head. Had Flora made it to safety? Was she alright? That fear curdled to anger, and it knotted in my stomach. So help me, if that fucker laid a hand, a single _finger_ on her I was going to have his _head._

That brought me to Alice and Karel. Were they locked somewhere within this place (whatever, _wherever_ that was) as well? I told myself they had to be. After all, I didn't see a reason why Alvaz would split us up and haul us off to separate locations. If he was the master of the Lamya zealots I doubted he'd waste time dividing the goods when he could just make use of them all under the same roof, especially since he were cloaking the victims— _us_ with powerful spells. I was more than positive that Alice, Karel, Ahisa, Bishop, and all the other missing students were somewhere behind that door—I just needed a way to break it down. And once I did and regrouped with the others, we'd formula a plan to save ourselves. Somehow. Not gonna lie: our situation was painfully grim. Since Andelle and Violet hadn't been able to get past the cloaking charms, the same ones I knew for a fact now enchanted me and everyone else, we were on our own, especially since Tecna hadn't been able to record our capture. She had no clue where we'd been taken, and there was no way for her or any of them to find us, meaning our fate was ultimately in our hands. We and only we could get ourselves out of this mess.

But…how?

I pondered that fruitlessly.

How would we escape Alvaz and his cult? Let's say I _did_ happen to miraculously reunite with the group and we managed to track down the rest of the victims (how many were there?) What then? No way could we just sneak out and slip through the zealot's fingers. The warlock was no doubt their muscle and considering his strength, he was our main obstacle. How did we expect to overcome it? In terms of power, Alvaz was definitely unparalleled and regardless of our numbers, no one stood a chance.

Bile boiled in my stomach at a realization: the bastard would come to fetch me—and Icy—soon. With the addition of us, Alice, and Karel to his resources for the ritual, there was a strong possibility the requirements for the spell had been met (I would assume gathering sacrifices was the last step since this unknown party had been working in the shadows for what sounded like weeks now). And once his group finished the last of the preparations, it would be time to reap the benefits of their hard work.

I had but a short time.

I felt myself slowly succumbing to the despair. Were these my final hours? Would I ever see the light of day again? Would my road end here, where no one would find me? W—

Oh god, my family.

They'd never see me again, never knew what became of—

I was wrenched out of my worries when Icy stirred on the other end of the cell. I didn't bother rising as she groaned and slowly embraced consciousness. "Wise and shine, sleepyhead," I announced as the witch peeled her face off the stone. She didn't even have to fully register our surroundings before her head snapped in my direction.

"Hi," I said.

I simply tilted my head to the right as an ice chip whistled across the tight space, shattering into tiny shards against the wall nearby my ear. "Missed," I said without batting an eye.

"Wh-what are _you_ doing here? Where the hell am I?" stammered a disorientated Icy, nearly tripping as she tried to scramble to her feet.

"I can ask you the same," I said evenly. Though we were fated to be long-term enemies, Icy was presently my only ally. Fairy, witch, it didn't matter. In the end, it would take everyone's vigor to survive whatever was to come.

I watched carefully as the witch stood and braced herself against the wall, a nasty scowl creasing her face as she held her head and tried to recollect herself. "Rough day?" I guessed. When she didn't answer, my eyes wandered down to the dull brown that was stark against the pale-blue. "You have straw in your hair."

Icy's eyes shot down to her ponytail. Muttering, she untangled the piece from her hair. She had yet to fire an insult at me, and I couldn't decide if I was relived or unsettled.

A moment of silence passed, but I knew we were both anxious to question each other, hear each other's story. So I waited until Icy finally squared her shoulders and leveled a deadly calm stare at me. "Tell me, fairy. Why in the _rotting underealm_ am I here?"

So I'm guessing Candi or whoever attacked her hadn't been as generous as Alvaz and elaborated. That complicated things. Where the hell did I even begin?

"What's the last thing you remember?" I asked as I sifted through yesterday's (today's? Heaven knows how much time had passed since Alvaz's ambush) memories, as I pieced together an explanation that didn't reveal any personal details. Icy only needed the key facts, so I'd omit the parts about Flora.

The crease between the witch's brows deepened as she thought back. "Darcy, Stormy, and I were on the road back to school when some winged bastard confronted us," she said, lips playing into a scowl at the memory.

Alvaz.

I didn't let my surprise show, but my mind was spinning. So _Alvaz_ was the one who swept up the Trix? But didn't he say Candi— _Candace_ had been in charge of finding eligible sacrifices with the aid of that Bloodhound thing? Either she pointed the warlock in the Trix's direction, or he'd targeted them randomly.

"Black hair, red eyes, dark tunic?" I said. She responded with a slow nod. "Yeah, that's Alvaz. He's the guy who assaulted me and my friends too. Speaking of him, do you happen to be acquainted with a Candace Burkett?"

The question earned me a suspicious once-over. Would she admit to one of her own being associated with a fairy? "I think Darcy knows someone by that name," she said at last.

"Well, be sure to thank Darcy the next you see her because it's partly her fault you're even in this mess," I said matter-of-factly. "Turns out Candace's an undercover agent for the cult that kidnapped us."

" _What?"_ snapped Icy, growing visibly infuriated.

"Yeah. She's the one who siced the 'winged bastard' on you guys." Ever since that collaborate with Darcy to humiliate Musa, the squinty-eyed whore had probably kept a close eye on the witch and her sisters, waiting for the right time to make her move.

Icy stomped her foot. "Dammit! I _told_ that fool not to get involved fairies. When I get out of here, I'm going to have that tree-kissing freak's _ass—_ "

I leapt to my feet right as Icy chucked a wintery spell at the door. It proved useless, just like all my previous efforts. "What the—?"

"Yeah, magic doesn't work on it," I disclosed as the witch four more attempts at breaking the door down before kicking in stubbornly.

She gritted her teeth. "It must be made of elfin iron."

"Elfin iron?" I repeated, eyebrows shooting up in query.

Icy glared at me like I was insufferable. "You're more ignorant than I thought. How can you be a caster and not know about your main weakness?"

Weakness? Actually…that made sense. "So…Elfin iron is anti-magic," I deduced, more statement than question.

Icy gave an imperceptible nod. "Even sorcerers with godlike powers are rendered useless by it. That's why it's the rarest, most sought-after resource in all of the cosmos. It's nearly impossible to come by these days, especially with all the kings and queens stripping their planets of the mineral to accommodate their elite guards."

"That must mean we're up against powerful people if they were able to get their hands on something that scarce," I mused grimly.

Ice glinted above Icy's nails, reflecting the cruelty in her eyes as she growled, "Don't know, don't care. Whoever they are, they're going to have to answer to me." I highly doubted she could take Alvaz, but no way was I going to discourage her from trying. Whatever outcome of that battle would surely result in one less problem for us.

"We have to break out of here, first," I reminded with an eye roll. "So why don't you use that energy to come up with a solution to our little predicament? Considering the door is immune to magic, and the stones are too dense to blast through, we don't have that many—"

Icy huffed. "Gods, you really are a fool, aren't you? Must I tell you how to do _everything_?"

I stared at her cluelessly.

The witch facepalmed. "Use that melon-sized head of yours, fairy. Elfin iron is only resistant to spells and all things conjured magically. However, against natural, preexisting forces, it's just as susceptible as anything else."

I blinked, blank-faced.

A vein bulged in Icy's forehead. "Why did I have to get stuck with the moron?" she murmured to herself, pinching her forehead. Turning back to me, she snapped, "You're a wind fairy, aren't you? Just use your powers to compress whatever little air we have into a single surge and use it to blow down the door."

Oh.

 _Oh._

I would've kicked myself in the shin had not Icy been standing there to witness my humiliation.

How did I not think of that? It was so simple! But there was only one problem—

"Well? What the hell are you waiting for?" demanded Icy impatiently, "Hurry up and get us out of here. I've shared the same space with you for far too long."

I fidgeted, hating her guts for putting me on the spot. "I—um—the thing is—"

"What's the problem?" the witch hissed, taking a step closer to me. She studied me for a second before her irritation curdled to disgust. "No," she spat, "you can't be serious. You do know how to manipulate wind, don't you?"

My painful silence was answer enough.

The witch tipped her head back and expelled a harsh laugh. "This just keeps getting better and better," she said, though she didn't sound humored in the slightest. "You have to be the sorriest fairy I've ever met. How the hell did a weakling like you manage to get into Alfea if you can't even wield the element you've been bound to for almost two decades?"

I furiously held her gaze, though shame heated my cheeks. Deep down, I cursed myself for not putting more time into my affinity. I'd made the Winx my top priority and my near obsession had come back to bite me in the ass.

Icy was merciless. "Wait until Stormy hears this," she said with a scowl, "I can't believe you actually had the audacity to think you stood a chance against her. Unlike you, she has _years_ of experience."

I forced myself to roll my eyes dramatically, to feign indifference though I was boiling inside. "Are you going to keep pointlessly running your mouth, or are you going to make yourself useful and help me think of a way out of here?"

"Oh, I already have a plan," sneered Icy, "and it's going to be _very_ unpleasant for you."

I had the sense to summon a slim, almond-shaped shield around me as Icy spread her arms apart. Instantly, a cracker-thin layer of ice crystallized on the surface of my barrier. I looked around to notice something similar was occurring to the walls, limbs of hoarfrost branching toward the ceiling like mold. Suddenly, I understood her objective.

It wasn't long before the whole cell was iced-over. But Icy didn't stop decreasing the temperature. Thanks to her magic, the witch wasn't subject to the cold and didn't even flinch as the ice grew thicker and thicker, chunkier and denser, until mini-glaciers were forming in the corners and glasslike stalactites hung from the ceiling.

The best part about it, though, was the fact that even the elfin-iron door had frozen over. Logically, it would—Icy didn't conjure the ice; she just caused the temperature to decline, meaning this mini winter wonderland had formed as a natural phenomenon, _not_ a magical one.

Once the door was completely encased in ice, Icy thrust both hands forward, as if she was pushing against the iron. To my begrudging amazement, the door rattled a few times before completely tearing off its hinges, slamming against the stone wall outside. She'd somehow used the natural ice to dislodge the door out of its frame!

Breathing misting the air, Icy just turned and smirked at me before proceeding toward the empty doorway.

Not daring to brave the treacherously slippery floor, I steered my little barrier outside after her and deactivated it in the narrow corridor in front of the ice cube that imprisoned the elfin iron.

I trailed Icy down the short hallway, which bled into a cavernous torchlit, rank-smelling chamber. The wet, pungent stench, I realized, was a product of the mold that'd grown in tangled veins across the across the walls and in the cracks in between the stones. The odor turned my stomach as my eyes drank up the rest of the scene, nausea gripping me. Slime seeped from the shattered rock of the low ceilings, dripping into groves in the damp floor while wisps of webbings wavered from the ceiling in a phantom draft. Dampness collected in the corners and one of them had a particularly large lump of webbing in which rat bones were knotted together. Each wall contained a gaping arched column that marked the start of a new corridor, and I craned my neck to see further into one of them. However, thanks to the shitty lighting and my vantage point, all I saw were thick, unpleasant shadows that seemed to whisper.

A dungeon.

I whispered with a shiver, "This must be the Lamya cult's hideout." Meaning they were all lurking down here somewhere. Suddenly, I was on very high alert.

Much to my horror and exasperation, Icy ignored me and made for one of the passageways. I reached out and seized her arm. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" I hissed, hopefully low enough so she didn't detect the budding fear.

The witch growled a warning and wrenched herself free. "What do you think? I'm going to look for Darcy and Stormy, and then the three of us are going to wreak havoc on this place." A fool's move, but only a witch would put revenge before her own safety,

I refused to facially demonstrate the flash of panic that heated my insides. "You can't just waltz around this place, Icy. It's dangerous, but not nearly as much as the people it belongs to. That being said, we need to stick together—"

"Stick together?" repeated Icy, appalled. " _Stick together?_ In case you've forgotten, I'm not your comrade and I don't do that fairy code bullshit. Our paths separate here whether you like it or not."

I couldn't _believe_ this. "But—"

"What's wrong? Scared?" challenged Icy. "As expected of an Alfea fairy. It's almost sad how much they've deluded you and your classmates. They're always pumping that teamwork-sisterhood wyvernshit into your mushy heads, and it's made you all naïve and spineless. You've grown too dependent on each other and don't know how to cope with being alone, _survive_ alone. You've grown so used to watching your buddies' back, you don't know how to watch your own." A muscle in her jaw feathered in the torchlight. "It's sickening. You're like sheep. Split up the flock and they all go haywire, like they can't think for themselves. That fatal weakness makes it's far too easy to divide and conquer. If you want to defeat a group of fairies, all you have to do is shut them off from each other and pick them off one by one. Like now. I honestly gave you too much credit. Out of your whole pitiful group, I figured you and that technofairy were the only ones who were self-sufficient. Turns out I was wrong considering you're practically begging me, a _witch,_ to stay by you side since you don't have an entourage to protect you anymore."

That struck a nerve, and my demeanor went from distressed to defensive. I straightened my back and held the bitch's gaze, refusing to show further weakness. "As usual, you don't know what you're talking about. I lived on my own prior to attending Alfea." Technically not a lie since I lacked companionship my first few months on Magix. "I know how to look after myself."

Icy flashed her signature subzero smile. "Then consider this a trial. Let's see if you've managed to maintain those skills, or if you've grown too reliant on Stella and the others. Look for a way to get out of this dump and save your ass, or admit defeat and crawl into a hole somewhere until that warlock finds you—the choice is yours. Either way, this is where we part ways. Later."

And, leaving those words hanging between us, she gave a half-hearted wave and disappeared into the tunnel to the left. She left me standing there, jaw and fists clenched. I had too much pride to run after her, so I just watched as she vanished into the gloom.

Damn her. So she thought I was weak, huh? I'd show her.

Though my resolve had been strengthened, I was ultimately still afraid.

Now that I'd been abandoned in this unfamiliar place, the shadows and silence seemed to pulse steadily, like a heartbeat. My alarm must've heightened my senses because suddenly, the stones look glossier, more porous. My ears went hypersensitive and the dripping sounded obnoxiously loud. The giant, formidable archways looked like mammoth mouths, poised to swallow me whole. My insides twisted and for a second, I could not breathe.

What the hell was I supposed to do now?

I was screwed _to_ hell, that much was obvious.

Who knew what kind of foul creatures roamed down here beside Alvaz. Guaranteed that this was their HQ, I was bound to run into an adversary sooner or later. And even if I managed to overcome them, there had to be at least a dozen more to back them up. I had no hope of—

 _No, calm down, calm down. Don't prove Icy right._ I took a deep breath, struggling to steel myself. There was no point in scaring myself shitless. Regardless of the scope of situation, I was here and trapped here. I wasn't ignorant or selfish enough to hope to escape on my own, meaning the wisest course of action was to pinpoint my friends and the other missing college kids while evading capture. I would not be a coward and give Icy the satisfaction. _I would not be a coward._

Thus, I turned to face the rightward tunnel, squared my shoulders, and marched into the unknown, my body penetrating the shadows.

Mercifully, this portion of the dungeon was as filthy as the one I'd left behind. Dust— _only_ dust—caked the ancient smooth-stoned walls and the slick floor was clean of that slime from earlier and littered with the remains of dead roaches instead of the remains of dead rats. Burning torches in iron sconces lined either side of the corridor, splashing the walls with flickering light that exaggerated my shadow as I wended my way down the narrow path.

Though I kept my chin up, my body trembled slightly. Could you blame me for being frightened? I was confined within the bowels of enemy territory, without any sense of where I was going or who or what I'd discover. I had no idea what this labyrinth had in store for me, though I knew it wouldn't be pretty. After all, I'd read enough books and watched enough TV to know what dungeons meant. Any time a supporting character—like me— found themselves trapped in a labyrinthine environment such as this one, there was always some form of adversary lurking around the corner just waiting to pop out and assault the hero when he/she least expected it. Or, even worse, they stalked protagonist the whole time and didn't reveal their presence until their prey was cornered in a dead-end. I had trouble believing my case would be the exception—especially with that jackass Alvaz lying in wait somewhere—and it was sheer paranoia (or was it?) that led me to believe someone's or some _thing_ 's eyes were boring into my backside, monitoring my every motion. That unsettling, spine-chilling sense of foreboding made the hairs on the back of my neck prickle and had me glancing over my shoulder every few seconds. Every time I did, I swore I discerned faint movement in the shadows, but could never determine if it was real or just my eyes playing tricks on me. Just to play it safe, I strained my ears and kept my steps clipped and quiet. I'd be damned if some bastard jump me.

I needed to silence my mind as well so I could focus and determine my next move, but my thoughts were too jumbled. All things aside, I guess I was still confused, still in disbelief over all that had occurred.

One weekend.

That was all it'd taken for things to escalate to _this._

Just two (three?) days ago when I had my training session in the woods I had no idea that in just a matter of hours, me and my friends would get dragged into the situation that was far more complicated than we ever suspected. That when we left school to set out on a mission the following day— _yesterday_ , I think—some of us weren't going to make it back. This was what our concern had wrought. And you know the screwed-up part about it? The worst was yet to come. That much was certain. I could feel it in my bones, in the pulsing silence that had this passage in a chokehold—

Unexpectedly, a phantom draft kissed my neck, a whisper of wind urging me to turn around. I obeyed on instinct, craning my neck to peer over my shoulder—

 _Holy shit!_

I didn't get a chance to fully register the newcomer's face before I was reeling back at a speed my brain didn't have time to comprehend, leading me to lose both my balance and footing.

I fell flat on my ass and as I scrambled to my feet to Shift, magic rallied to defend myself against whoever had come to drag me away to my doom, I froze in mid-movement when a voice said:

"Please, do not be alarmed. I come in peace."

It was light, feminine, ethereal, and certainly didn't belong to Alvaz.

Slowly, bracing myself, I lifted my chin to face the visitor.

I recognized them _—her_ and the relief/shock overwhelmed me the point my legs slackened.

Daphne.

The translucent spirit hovered above the stone floor only feet away, her golden gown billowing around her and glowing with the illusion of fire. Tendrils of matching hair had escaped the elaborate updo the rest was styled in around her crown—the sacred Crown of the Crowned Princess of Domino, the sole symbol of what she had been and an heirloom, an honor, one she'd worn proudly even in death—falling around the masquerade, wing-like mask that covered most of that ghostly face.

Though my heartbeat roared in my ears like a freight train and I couldn't grasp the meaning behind her unexpected appearance, I swelled with an odd sense of respect and found myself bowing low.

Regardless of how much the storyline had been altered, one vital detail was written in stone: Daphne's sacrifice for the dimension, for her realm, for her sister. Because of her, the Ancestral Witches did not obtain the power they desired, the one they'd ripped apart a whole planter for. Because her story ended, another's was able to begin and her destiny would intertwine with many others.

The spirit acknowledged my token of respect. "Funny. I was sure you'd feign ignorance," she said gently.

I'd honestly considered that for a nanosecond but for some inexplicable reason, I got the impression she was as familiar with me as I with her.

"You know who I am," I said evenly, more statement that question.

"Yes. The Ethereal Fairies are not the only ones who've been keeping a close eye on you. Your arrival here was foreseen by forces beyond your understanding."

I flinched inwardly. Though I wasn't freaked out by Daphne herself, it was somewhat startling to know someone…knew. Knew I wasn't from here, didn't originate here, didn't' belong here. Mainly, it reminded with (with no small amount of dread) that I couldn't shutter the truth forever, though I'd hoped to. If my skipping over the 4th wall was really that important, it would have to come out eventually, and that was a tale that would be too taxing to tell.

"What do you want from me?" I asked finally. _How did you find me?_ I wanted to add. _And why'd you pick_ now _of all times to appear?_

"I came to entrust you with something sacred," said Daphne gravely, "something that will save all of your lives."

I perked up. Something that would save us the Lamya zealots? Before I could ask questions that "something" materialized in her hands. A simple yet beautiful gilded box with a golden winding key.

A music box.

"I came to entrust you with something sacred," said Daphne gravely, "something that will save all of your lives."

I perked up. Something that would save us the Lamya zealots? Before I could ask questions that "something" materialized in her hands. A simple yet beautiful gilded box with a golden winding key.

A music box.

I furrowed my brows, heart dropping. _That_ was supposed to "save" us?

"I've held on to this since that dark day," said Daphne quietly, her voice taking on a faraway quality. "It's all I have left to remind myself of them and our once glorious kingdom. When I play it, it's like I'm transported back in time to when I was still…alive. It's like I'm back in my room listening to Mother's voice as she sings Bloom a lullaby across the hall."

The grief in her voice made my heart ache. I wasn't sure what to say, so I went with, "I'm sorry."

Daphne shook out of whatever daze she was in. "As much as it pains me to depart from it, this music box is not mine. It's Bloom. It was gifted to her upon her birth by our mother's dearest brother." Daphne flew over to me, gestured for me to hold out my hands. I obeyed, and she gently set the music box on my open palms.

"This is one the few surviving craftsmanship of Domino's royal family. It is priceless; do not lose it," warned Daphne, voice iron. I could only nod numbly, understanding the value and importance of the object. But why give it to me, not Bloom?

"What am I supposed to do with it?"

Daphne didn't say anything for a moment. "Play it for her when she's lost her way," she said at last, voice trembling. "Though she may not understand it, the melody will soothe and save her soul."

"Wait, so—"

Daphne turned her back to me abruptly, her phantom shirts flowing. "My time is up," she said, her form flickering. "I have to go. Safeguard that treasure until my sister is ready to accept the truth about herself."

And like that, the spirit winked out like a light, leaving me openmouthed and puzzled in her wake.

What the hell just happened?

I stared down at the music box in my grasp. I didn't understand what I was supposed to do with it. Just…hold on to it until Bloom wanted what was rightfully hers? Again, I didn't understand and didn't have time to. I had to get a move on before someone passed through these parts and caught me.

I made good use of a basic miniaturization spell I learned in my charms course, and shrunk the music box so it'd fit loosely in my pocket. Just as I was slipping it inside, a distant, linen-soft voice called my name from behind.

My whole being tensed. _Who the—_

"Acadia!"

 _Wait a second. I know that voice—_

I spun around on my heels to find—

 _Praise the stars!_

Much to my relief and gratitude, none other than Alice and Karel appeared side-by-side out of the shadows on the other end of the tunnel. My roommate lifted a hand in a wave.

It felt like I'd been relieved of a hundred pounds as I hurried over. I didn't care if doing so meant I "lost" my "trial." Screw what Icy said—there was safety in numbers. The witch and I hadn't been the only ones lucky to escape. Alice had most likely freed herself the same way Icy had, and sought out Karel shortly afterwards.

It took every ounce of pride and self-restraint not to burst into happy tears on the spot. _"Guys!"_ I exclaimed, fighting the embarrassing urge to throw myself into my roommate's arms as I met the both of them. "You're alright!"

Alice cracked a small, gentle smile while Karel's face portrayed no emotion. "Greetings, friend. It's good to see you're well. We were just on our way to fetch you."

This was great! Now I wouldn't have to face whatever awaited alone. Heartened by my turn of fortune, I proceeded forward and motioned for them to follow. "C'mon. We need to find Ahisa before—"

"Wait."

I paused and turned around to see neither Alice nor Karel had made any attempt to pursue. And to make matters worse, the ice fairy looked… _troubled_. This only alarmed me more. I was witnessing a whole new side to my roommate; I'd never seen her conflicted.

"What's wrong?" I asked slowly, looking to Karel for some kind of clue about what was going on. Unfortunately, his face gave away nothing.

Alice winced. "I…have to tell you something. Remember when we all went to the Volreich sisters that day?"

I nodded. It'd just happened, what? Yesterday? Two, three days ago?

"And when I was overwhelmed with all those prophetic dreams?"

I met Alice's crystal eyes. I knew this was random and off-topic, but I'd never noticed how stunning her eyes were until now. A perfect blend of pale gray and icy blue with rings of white around the pupils, glowing with glacial brilliance. "What does this have to do with anything?"

Alice sighed _. "_ When I awoke from my trance, I insisted that I couldn't recall any of my visions. But the thing is…that was a lie."

"What?"

Alice gave a stiff nod. "Yes. I actually remember _everything_ my powers revealed to me."

"What?" I stupidly sputtered again.

"As you know, thanks to the power boost from the Volreich sisters, I was able to use my foresight gift again, and to a degree I never knew was possible. I had dozens of visions in a matter of seconds, some that were to take place in the distant future, others in a matter of hours. I…saw us meeting the Specialists and going to Steass. I saw us confronting and losing to Alvaz. I even saw the events taking place right now and a few set to unfold shortly."

Hold up, hold up.

WHAT?

For a second, my brain could not process what she'd just said. I didn't believe it— _refused to._ She was lying. She had to be. There was no way she'd let things turn out like this if she had any say in the matter. But still…

"How did I get out of my cell?" I asked, doubt mushrooming inside of me.

The light from one of the torches wavered, casting dramatic shadows on the smooth panes of Alice's face. "The witch you were imprisoned with broke you both free. You parted ways immediately after," she said dryly.

My eyes had to be bulging out of my head, I was _that_ taken aback.

 _Nonononono—_

Anger started to boil in the pit of my stomach.

" _What the hell, Alice?"_ I exploded, not caring who was in earshot. "You're telling you _knew_ all this shit was going to happen to us? Why didn't you just open your fucking mouth and say something?" My mind was literally roaring. I couldn't _believe_ this.

Alice opened her mouth, but I cut her off. "So you already knew about Lamya and Candace's involvement with Alvaz?" I demanded. "That she'd deceive us and—"

" _She who is not but appears to be so will lure them into the raven's trap,"_ was what Alice had said in her trance.

Goosebumps rippled across my skin. Candace—one who'd appeared to be ally, but was just a self-serving, traitorous whore. And Alvaz, the warlock with raven wings, who'd used Candi to lure us into his snare.

Alice was telling the truth. She was completely aware of _everything—_

Without warning, I shot forward, reaching and seizing a fistful of Alice's shirt as I yanked her closer. "Whose side are you fucking on?" I demanded. "If you knew all this shit was going to happen why didn't you just open your fucking mouth back at Trillium Moon? You could've spared us from this bullshit." We could've easily gone to the police and settled everything that same day. Better yet, she could've warned us about the danger in Steass. But instead, she let us—she _agreed_ to going there, knowing we'd encounter Candace and get our asses kicked by her bastard boss. "Why would you _willingly_ let us get captured? Why would you _willingly_ let us get dragged into this dangerous, complicated situation when you could've easily prevented it?"

I stole a glance at Karel to confirm he'd heard what I just heard, to see if he was equally as enraged. But the Specialist just stared back with cool, unfeeling eyes. Either Alice already broke the news to him, or he just didn't give a shit.

Alice flinched at my tone, but I didn't bother let go of her. And she didn't bother pull away. Instead, she held my wrathful stare. "That is the ultimate burden of a seer," she said, "the main reason I suppressed my visions for long: knowing what the futures has in store, regardless of how good or bad. Knowing the fate of themselves and their loved ones regardless of how peaceful or horrific. You're right; I _could've_ told all the moment I awoke, but I didn't. Because this _needed_ to happen."

I let go of her top with a shove, glaring fire and brimstone. The ice fairy straightened and continued, "I intentionally chose not to interfere with the events that were set to occur, because I had no right to. What will happen over the next few hours will rock the whole Magic Dimension and form the footholds of destiny for many individuals. It'll put them on the path they were meant to walk, which will ignite the beginning of endless change and trigger a whole new era."

I completely disregarded all of that. "Where the hell are we, Alice? Since you're apparently all-knowing now."

"We're under a forest on a planet far away from planet Magix."

"I said _where are we_ , dammit." I was _not_ in a good place right now. She would've been better off keeping her little secret to herself. Now I was going grill her until I could get some kind of clue as to what was going on here.

No answer.

I tried again. "Will we manage to overcome Alvaz and his cult and rescue everyone?"

Alice picked at a nonexistent speck of dust on her skirt. "I can't say."

Suddenly, I was very tired. ""Will you _at least_ tell me how long we've been down here?"

Thankfully, my roommate nodded. "Not that much time has passed since Alvaz kidnapped us. It's the next day—around ten in the morning." If this was any other normal-ish day, I would've been on my way to second period.

Alright, so Alice was willing to elaborate on the more minor details. I could work with that, I guess. I had no choice. "Flora…Was she lucky enough to escape Alvaz?" I choked out, not sure if I wanted the answer.

Alice's pained expression was answer enough.

My throat and chest constricted.

No.

 _No._

I stumbled backwards, bracing myself against the stoned wall. Images of the scenario involuntarily flooded my mind. I imagined Flora running up those stairs as the rest of us fell. And then Alvaz jetting after her…

Did he blast her in the back? Or perhaps he let her get her hopes up and attacked right as she was about to make it into the clear. What if— _oh god._

What if he carried her off to his private domain? Flora was very beautiful; Alvaz could've decided to use her for more _personal_ matters—

"Don't panic. The nature fairy isn't in immediate danger. She's somewhere down here," informed Alice before I could start hyperventilating. "I can take you to her."

The weight in my chest lifted just a little. "Please," I breathed. The sooner we fetched her, the better. Between Icy, Alvaz, and who knows who else, I didn't want anyone beating us to her.

And so we set off.

We eventually reached the end of the corridor, where it branched into two more. Seriously, how big _was_ this place? Alice, not discouraged in the slightest, simply chose the path to the right, her steps never faltering. I found myself glaring at her backside as Karel and I trailed close behind. I envied her confidence and utter lack of fear given the circumstances. But at the same time I was relived. If her demeanor was unalarmed, that almost certainly meant we wouldn't run into any… _obstacles_ along the way.

My stomach started doing flip-flops the deeper we traveled down the passageway because, unlike the others, this one was aligned with _doors_. There weren't many—about a nine-foot gap in between each one—but at the same time, there were _too_ many. Too many that could swing open at any given moment, revealing...well, I didn't know. That was the part that scared me. _What_ , exactly, awaited on the other side of these doors? This was a dungeon, so I couldn't imagine anything pleasant. A torture chamber? A butchering block? I didn't know, and I prayed I never would.

There was a break in the wall up ahead and we passed through it, entering yet _another_ hallway. I immediately knew something wasn't right.

There was screeching. And _hissing._

It got louder and louder the further we proceeded down the path and by the time we arrived at the tall pair of bronze doors that marked the end of it, the noise was almost unbearable. Whatever was on the other side sounded atrocious….and was definitely trouble.

"What the hell is that?" I growled in a near whisper.

Karel grabbed one of the brass handles, gently and soundlessly easing one of the doors open just enough for him to peek inside. His whole body went rigid, which couldn't be a good sign. Now more curious than worried, I nudged him out of the way and took his place, daring to take a look. However, just as I was peering through the crack, some kind of black multi-legged creature happened to be creeping across the stone right in front of the doors, startling the absolute _shit_ out of me. I leapt backwards, clapping a hand over my mouth to muffle the yelp escaping my lips. What the _hell_ was that? My bugged eyes met Karel's in silent question.

"Familiars," he replied, jaw clenched.

 _Familiars?_ What kind of familiars look like _that?_ I braved another look to find out.

The slim opening allowed me to see only a small portion of the chamber on the other side—and the creatures prowling it. A different one crawled past the doors every few seconds, giving me a chance to a get a good look at them. They were **horrific** ; scaled, squat monsters, each about the size of a cat. Their bodies were batlike and buglike at the same time. While they had a set of bat wings, they had noses like mosquito and six furry legs like a tarantula. And the buzzing….In unison with the reverberation of their many legs clicking on the stone concurrently—a sound that reminded me of frozen French fries being dropped into hot popping grease—it was spine-chilling and nearly deafening.

Having seen enough, I slowly reclosed the door, being careful not to startle the little freaks. I turned to Alice. I must've looked as perplexed as I felt, because the ice fairy explained, "Shadowcrawlers. They're Alvaz's minions, extensions of his shadow magic. He stationed them there to guard to the holding cells inside. Flora's in one of them."

I frowned deeply. "So we have to get past those abominations in order to get to Flora." Dammit. Did I have enough mana for that? It was regenerating slower than normal—Alvaz's dark magic had done some damage. I looked to Alice, whose powers I would have to rely on since mine weren't enough. "Are you up for a little extermination?"

Alice made to reply, but Karel cut her off. "Leave it to me," he announced, "I will handle it."

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. "But Alvaz took your phantoblade," I pointed out, eyes drifting down to his waist. "How are you supposed to fight them? You don't have magic."

Karel didn't say anything. To prove me wrong, all he had to do was lift a balled fist. Veins of cerulean electricity pulsed and crackled around it. Thunder magic.

I gaped, dumbfounded. "No way! You had magic all this time? Why didn't you use it when we were fighting Alvaz? Maybe things would've…" I trailed off, recalling that streak of lightning that whizzed overhead before my lights went out. "Oh."

"My magic has almost completely restored itself," said Karel, "thus, it would be wiser and easier for me to annihilate the shadowcrawlers."

"Yeah, but it go faster if all three of us combined our powers—"

"No, that would be foolish," Karel cut into my argument, "it's unhealthy to exert your magic while your body is still recovering from mana depletion. Besides, the intensity of lighting magic fully depends on range. In confined spaces such as this, it can be lethal. If the three of us were to go in together, there's a high chance I'd accidentally strike one of you."

"Okay, good point. But still. Do you honestly think you can take on _all_ those creatures?" I asked.

"Yes."And, without leaving room for doubt, Karel slipped inside the chamber, the door screeching shut behind them.

Immediately, the shadowcrawlers' buzzing turned into full-fledged shrieks as the Specialist began his assault on them, lighting relentlessly popping and sizzling. Hmm. He didn't waste time. I was starting to see why Flora liked him…

"Acadia."

I glared at Alice. "What?"

The ice fairy pinned me with those glacially unsure eyes. "Do you hate me?" Her voice was almost drowned out by the shadowcrawlers' intensifying cries. I hoped the racket didn't attract any unwanted attention.

"Yes." Unacceptably mean of me, I know, but I had the right to be, didn't I? This girl had singlehandedly deceived us all, and to a degree nearly as bad as Candace.

Alice sighed, leaning against the stone wall opposite of me. "I truly see why you're upset, but you need to understand. Just because I know what fragments of the future hold doesn't give me the right to alter them—at least, not significantly. That's why there are so few oracles; foresight is a deadly ability, but not nearly as much as the magicians who utilize it. Though it may not seem like it, there's tremendous power in having knowledge of what's yet to come. While some guard it responsibly, most use it to their advantage. Some even go as far as to try and manipulate the future themselves. There's actually a huge debate as to whether or not one truly _can_ change the direction of the future. Half thinks it's possible, while the other believes it's set in stone regardless of how much you attempt to modify it."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked thinly.

"That's the whole reason I ultimately chose to keep you all in the dark about the Steass occurrences," went on Alice over the shadowcrawlers' howling. "I honestly wanted to tell inform you of everything, but I wasn't sure if that was the right decision. Major things were and still are set to ensue; things that will determine the progress of Destiny from here on out. I wasn't sure if revealing these events would only hinder them from occurring, or completely write them out of history and throw it off-course. That's why I chose to stay quiet. It was the safer option."

I stared at her stubbornly. "That's no excuse—"

Alice's right eyebrow quirked. "Isn't it? To be honest, I assumed you of all people would understand my burden. After all, you're in a situation similar to mine, aren't you?"

Alarmed poured into my heart like water from a pitcher. Still, I managed to keep my voice perfectly even as I asked, "What are you talking about?" She wasn't implying what I thought she was, was she? No, that was impossible. How the hell could she know? No one but me, Daphne, and the Ethereal Fairies were aware of the truth, so—

Right as Alice was making to respond, all went deadly silent on the other side of the doors. Seconds later, one of them groaned open and Karel appeared, saving my ass. "It's done," was all he said, stepping aside to make room for us to enter.

Taking this a much-appreciated opportunity to escape Alice's probing, I slipped inside first and beheld the chamber.

It was no different from the rest of the dungeon, with an eerie glow suffusing the medium-sized space.

Strewn across the stone were the now-deceased shadowcrawlers, their bodies shriveled and lifeless. Lying on their backsides like dead cockroaches, they were all withered and giving off wisps of smoke, their scales burned and blackened from the impact of Karel's lightning. He'd shown no mercy, and I almost felt bad for the little freaks. Almost. They must've been easy to exterminate, because the Specialist hadn't taken any physical damage I could see.

After inspecting him further, I took a good look around the chamber. It was bare and quite vast with several lanterns and elfin-iron doors lining the walls. Cells. There were so many. So why the hell had Alvaz thrown me and Icy into the same one? For his own sick amusement? "Which one is Flora in?" I asked anxiously. Alice pointed it out and after taking a moment to crack the metal lock with her ice, I seized the latch and heaved the door open.

Light flooded into the cell, revealing a terror-stricken, pale-faced Flora, who was huddled in the corner shaking like a leaf with eyes the size of saucers. Something in my chest cleaved open at how spooked she was, how helpless she looked. Like a deer caught in headlights.

"Flora?" I called my friend's name in the gentlest voice I could muster, taking a step into the eerie glow of the cell, which was completely identical to the one Icy and I had shared. Upon taking in and recognizing my face, the nature fairy cried out and sprung forward.

"Cadey, you're okay!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around me in an ursine hug, her body relaxing and melting into mine. And just like that, we were reunited. I squeezed her back, realizing just how much I needed this embrace and the glimmer of hope it gave me. That was one of the reasons I'd grown to love Flora so fiercely. She was like a ray of sunshine; no matter how bad of a situation we found ourselves in, Flora was always the one to chase the dark away and make things better. Even now, when the road ahead was looking so...depressing, I felt less afraid now that Flora was with me. It was almost enough to make me happy she'd gotten kidnapped after all.

"Yeah. What about you?" I asked when we finally pulled apart, studying her from head to toe. She looked untouched; no bruises or scratches, which was a good thing.

"I'm fine." Her face creased with relief. "You can't imagine how happy I am to— _Karel_!" She blindly bolted past me and out of the cell, nearly tripping over her own feet to get to the Specialist.

Karel turned and tensed at the sight of her outstretched arms, instinctively recoiling out of her reach. I cringed as Flora turned the color of ripe watermelon at the cold rejection. "K-Karel. I'm sor— _happy_ you're okay," she stammered, unable to meet his eyes. He simply nodded and glanced away uncomfortably.

"Flora, I'm glad to see you're well," Alice spoke up to save the girl from the painfully awkward moment.

Flora, who apparently hadn't noticed the ice fairy until now, startled and then blushed. "Alice! Oh, um, yeah. Me too." Her face fell, taking on an almost-fearful expression. "Guys, where are we?" she asked quietly, her bottom lip quivering as she took a good, slow look around the chamber. Her face went ghostly white at the sight of the sizzling remains of the shadowcrawlers. "And what are _those_ things?"

"Alvaz and friends' HQ," I responded with a sigh, "he dragged us all down here, and we're not the only ones. Candace pulled the Trix into this too."

Flora made to say something, but Karel interrupted. "Quickly, the other two," he said in Alice's direction, giving a barely perceptible nod toward the other cells. So the ice fairy _had_ informed him of a few things on their way to retrieve me.

 _Other two?_ It was then I remembered Ahisa and Bishop Bornebolt. Could they be behind one of these doors?

"Which one?" I asked eagerly, gaze shifting between them. After Karel identified the correct one, I broke the lock with a simple charm—perhaps they should've made _it_ out of elfin iron too.

When the spell proved successful, I wrenched the door ajar but before I had a chance to peer inside, a blurred figure pounced at me out of the darkness with a high-pitched battle cry. I released my own cry and reacted hastily, instinctively leaping out of the way as the person ended up sailing past me and colliding with the hard stone floor with a heavy _thud._

"Godsdammit," he swore under his breath, rubbing his near-bald head as he sat up. His head snapped up to face me. "Hey, you're not that winged bastard," he said, more surprised than confused. I guess 'winged bastard' was Alvaz's unofficial dub.

I studied the guy closely. He had a Common Accent like the rest of his, with a hint of what we Earthlings would deem was a British accent peppered in. But nothing about him was proper. What initially caught my attention was his left arm, exposed by his tank-top. His sleeve of tattoos was fully on display, specifically the whorls of ink that started on his shoulder and swirled all the way down to his wrist. My eyes traveled up the rest of him. For starters, he had the biggest forehead I'd ever seen, with two identical rows of dots aligning the center, reminding me of Krillin from _Dragon Ball._ I beheld his hair next. It was this rich plum color that looked somewhat red, like rich wine, in the torches' eerie glow and was medium length—but only in the middle. While he had a ponytail in the center of his head, the rest was shaved shiny and smooth as a doorknob. To tie his look together, he had two metal nuts pierced into his upper-left ear, and a bolt through the lower-right one. Everything about this kid was in-your-face and I had a feeling he liked it that way.

That was when Karel stepped forward, clearing his throat. "Are you Bishop Bornebolt?"

Rising to his full height, the guy who I assumed to be Bishop narrowed his eyes as he assessed his fellow Specialist challengingly. "Who's asking?"

Karel started to answer, but was cut off by the harsh sound of iron scraping against stone; Alice freeing the other victim. "Do not be alarmed," she gently said to whoever was inside the cell, "we're here to help you." They emerged a few seconds later and I found myself staring at the beauty.

She was very tall—about two inches shorter than Karel, who was the tallest Specialist—with a light tan complexion and light teal hair that flowed down her back like a silky waterfall. She must've been on her way to a party when she got abducted. That would explain her perfume and attire, which consisted of gold jewelry—big hoop earrings, a bracelet, and a collar necklace with a midnight blue jeweled pendant at its center—a midnight blue strapless top and below knee, flared low-cut pants that clung to her steep slopes. Her eyelids were dusted with glittery shadow that matched her glossy honey-colored lips.

Her eyes, which were charcoaled with flecks of silver like stars against a night sky, slid across the chamber and her face scrunched up with confusion. "How did I...?"

"Get here?" I finished. "It's a long, painfully complicated story. But first, how about we go ahead and get introductions out of the way since it's obvious we're going to be stuck with each other? I'm Acadia Jones, freshman fairy from Alfea."

Flora, who'd timidly retreated behind me, gave a small wave. "I'm Flora, her classmate."

Alice flashed an effortless smile in an attempt to ease the tension. "Alice, also from Alfea." She introduced Karel since he made no effort to.

Bishop's eyes swelled. "I thought I recognized you from somewhere. You're one of Old Man Saladin's snooty grandkids." I couldn't help but snort at that. Of course Karel's reclusive nature would be misconceived as snobbishness, especially since he was the grandson of a legend. Or one of them since apparently, the old man had more than one attending his school, one of them being Helia.

"So you _are_ Bishop Bornebolt from Red Fountain?" I asked.

His suspicious sidelong glance was answer enough. "What's it to ya?"

The teal-haired girl yawned. Her eyes were a bit puffy—she must've been in the middle of a nap before we showed up. "My name's Lucrezia Jaugstetter. I'm—" Yawn. "—a freshman at Cloud Tower." I failed to hide my surprise. She was a witch? I never would've suspected. She didn't dress like one, nor did she have that negative, bitchy vibe. She hadn't even scowled when we mentioned how we were fairies. The girl winced. "Is it a coincidence that we're all from Magix's main schools?" She gestured down at the floor. "And are those _bugs?"_

I matched her frown. "One: hardly. Two: no, they're familiars called shadowcrawlers. They were posted here to prevent you guys from escaping, so we took care of them."

Lucrezia's face darkened. "I couldn't have escaped even if I wanted to."

Both Bishop and Flora tensed. "Yes," the nature fairy said quietly, "I meant to say something earlier but when I first woke up, I tried to free myself but…my powers wouldn't work on the door. I tried every charm and attack I know, and all of them were ineffective. I thought about using my plant magic to break it down, but it's impossible for anything to grow past the stone…"

Lucrezia nodded solemnly. "I had a similar outcome. My metal magic should've allowed me to easily alter my door's iron composition, but I couldn't even tap into it."

As he kicked at one of the shadowcrawler's hollow caress, Bishop scowled, "At least you could _use_ your magic. I can't even get mine to work anymore. I think it's because of _this_." He lifted his right wrist, displaying the thick metallic band chaffing it.

"Let me see that." Reaching out, Lucrezia touched her fingers to its dull surface. "It's the same thing with this. It feels like the real thing, but I can't' bend its properties."

"That's because it's a special type of iron. It's elfin—the kind that's completely resistant to all types of magic," informed Alice, sending a flurry of ice magic at one of the doors as a demonstration. The iron absorbed it harmlessly. "It was incorporated in our cells to keep us contained." She turned to Bishop, almost inquisitively. "In your case, it's to prevent you from even tapping into your power. You must have a remarkable gift if they went as far as to shut you off from it entirely."

Regardless of the circumstances, something like pride swelled in his face. "Sure do. Bet you can't guess what it is."

A beat didn't pass before Karel, who'd posted himself beside the entrance, easily said, "Shapeshifting."

Bishop's jaw dropped. "How'd you know?" he demanded, whirling around to face him. "Have you been keeping tabs on me or something?"

I took a whiff in his direction, and wrinkled my nose at the stench of smoke, sweat, and BO . "No, you just smell like an animal." But seriously, I could see why Alvaz would be cautious of such a power. As a shifter, all Bishop would have to do was take a bulky form and wreck some shit.

Bishop started to make a retort, but Lucrezia cut him off. "Since you guys obviously aren't as in the dark as we are, care to explain what exactly is going on?"

I decided to introduce the story the same way I had with Icy, and let the explanation expand from there. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Bishop's eyebrows furrowed as he thought back. "I was on my way from Element," he recalled, ignoring Karel's huff. "I was heading back to the bus stop when this jackass with wings met me on the road, completely popping out of nowhere. I thought I could take him— _should've_ been able to take him, but the bastard was fast on his feet and jumped me. Next thing I knew, I was waking up in some shithole that smelled like cat piss. The prick stole my lighter and cigs—not to mention my phone and wallet."

"I'd been on my way to a friend's party," elaborated Lucrezia, her lips playing into a hint of a frown. "At their penthouse in Steass. When I got off at the Inner City subway station, some guy was already posted at my exit—like he'd been waiting for me. He cornered me and…you know the rest." She eyed with curiosity and something else. "What about you all? What's your story?"

Guess we did owe them that. "Simply put, one of our roommates disappeared in Steass a few days ago," explained Alice since I was shitty at summarizing stuff and Flora was acting more withdrawn than usual, "after a little more investigation, we discovered the same thing was occurring at other schools; that's how we knew about Bishop. We actually went to Steass in search of them both, but were compromised by a third party. That dark-haired winged warlock you both mentioned? His name is Alvaz, and he's been snatching students left and right." Which was a mystery in itself, especially since the bastard had explicitly blamed _Candace_ for all the disappearances, when, in reality, it was _he_ who did most of her dirty work. But if that was the case, why didn't she defend herself, call his bullshit? Unless her role in this was actually _bigger_ than what Alvaz had made it out to be. What if she was _more_ than just an expendable scout?

"For what purpose?" asked Lucrezia, shoulders tensing. "Why is this Alvaz abducting minors? What does he plan to do with us?"

It was my turn to stiffen. This was when things got tricky.

"Are any of you familiar with a Candace Burkett?" I asked, unsure of how to introduce the cult topic without bringing up her name.

"No," said Lucrezia as Bishop said, "Who the hell's that?"

"She's another one of our classmates," I said, biting back the disgust the sheer mention of her had invoked. "Turned out the bitch was an undercover agent for a cult hell-bent on reviving some dead hag. She deceived us and led Alvaz right to us. In order to fulfill their mission—" Though doing so was a pain in the ass, I recapped the situation to the best of my abilities.

By the time I was finished, Lucrezia was paler than Musa.

"You're bullshitting me," he said.

I made a point of looking over our surroundings and the deceased shadowcrawlers before raising an eyebrow at him. _I think not._

He pressed his lips together. "Shit."

"So...what do we do now?" asked Flora, biting her lip.

"We sure as hell can't stay here," I said, folding my arms across his chest. "Not unless you plan on welcoming Alavz with open arms when he eventually comes slinking back here."

"Agreed. It's not wise to stay in one place for long," said Karel. He regarded Bishop and Lucrezia closely, coolly. "Do you trust us?" he asked quietly. Not a request, just an honest question.

While Lucrezia's face twisted with conflict as she took a moment to consider, Bishop just shrugged. "Do I have a choice?"

That must've convinced Lucrezia, because she nodded. Though there was a small trace of uncertainty in her eyes, she said, "Yes. Anything is better than sticking around here."

And just like that, we recruited two new teammates.

The accelerated progression of the story was somewhat frightening….

...

"This place is _sick_ ," breathed Bishop as we turned another corner.

I shot him a look. "This place is a _prison_ ," I spat lowly, "and shut up, or someone will hear you."

We'd gotten lost pretty fast; in just ten minutes (I think?), we'd wandered off into a whole new sector of this endless maze where blue-glowing lichen and violet-glowing moss cling to the ceiling. It was more creepy than beautiful, so I tried not to look at it. Flora, on the other hand, seemed intrigued by it, which I guess was a good thing since the distraction seemed to put a stop to her unabating quaking. Though regardless of how fascinated, she didn't stray from my side to go investigate; she was convinced someone would leap out of the shadows and pull her in if she so much as took a single step away from me. Honestly, that was fine with me.

"When it comes to bad vibes, this place somehow has Cloud Tower beat," muttered Lucrezia, shivering in discomfort.

Up ahead, Karel, who was leading our group, froze abruptly, whole body gong rigid. Everyone immediately froze in their tracks on high alert.

"K-Karel?" whimpered Flora.

Gone unnaturally still, Karel only raised a hand, commanding silence.

I strained my ears, listening for whatever had alerted him.

The silence pulsed in my ears until, finally, I heard a faint scuffle in the distance, like the light tread of shoes.

Someone was approaching.

Flora squeaked while Bishop, Lucrezia, and I shifted into defensive positions.

Alice remained calm.

As the footsteps neared, I realized they was a _chorus_ of them, some short and rushed, others steady and clipped.

 _Multiple_ adversaries approaching.

I stared up ahead.

There were two different hallways up ahead and from the sounds of things, they were coming from the left.

As the footsteps drew nearer and I readied to attack, Karel visibly loosened up and before I could question the change in demeanor, the cause appeared at the end of the hall.

My legs nearly buckled when I held those five figures.

Sky, Brandon, and Bloom.

And…Darcy and Stormy?

As Flora flew forward to greet them and everyone started talking at once, I seized Alice's wrist and yanked her closer.

"Why didn't you tell me they got captured?" I hissed in her ear, mind reeling. How did that even happen? Their group had been nowhere near ours. They hadn't been in Alavz's range. "Did Tecna, Musa, and Stella…?"

Watching Flora and Bloom embrace, Alice said, "No. They're safe. They've already returned to Alfea, and are reporting everything to the headmistress." I guess that was somewhat of a relief.

Once everyone quieted down, it only took a moment to clear up the confusion. Turned out Sky, Brandon, and Bloom had seen the live feed of our confrontation with Alvaz. Being in closer proximity than Stella's group, they'd tried to rush to our rescue, but were unfortunately intercepted by Alvaz. Like us, they'd woken up in cells. Apparently, Daphne had visited Bloom before me and helped her escape. Afterwards, using the directions her ghostly sister had given her, Bloom managed to free Brandon and Sky and they met up with the Trix not long later. When Lucrezia, who surprisingly knew the other witches from school, asked how they winded up here, an aggravated Stormy gave a more infuriated version of the story Icy gave me. When I asked if either of them had seen Icy, they just shook their head. That obviously wasn't a good sign. Where had the ice witch wandered off to? I seemed to ponder that question more than her own sisters, which was a damn shame.

After I introduced Bishop and he, Brandon and Sky conversed for a few minutes, Darcy's attention pivoted to Karel, who hung back like an outcast. Putting two and two together, she drawled, "I'm sure Riven will be thrilled to hear he's already been replaced."

"An upgrade, if you ask me," I drawled right back, "I don't know why we didn't do it sooner."

Stormy gave Sky (Brandon) a sly sidelong glance. Unable to resist the lure of an insult, she said, "Where's that blond bird that's always squawking in your ear? Did she finally fly the coop for someone else? I heard her species is notorious for that."

Sky's (Brandon's) face was a portrait of indifference, although the witch had plainly called his love interest a slut. He even managed a lazy grin, contrasting the cold rage in his muddy eyes. "Bird? You mean like the one that's been glued to you and your sisters like a lovesick puppy?"

"This is no time to squabble," cut in Brandon (Sky) before the witch and squire could jump into a verbal sparring match. That's too bad. Had this been any another day, I would've paid good money to watch them go at each other's throats. "In case you both have forgotten, we're currently imprisoned deep in enemy territory." _Grow the hell up_ , he didn't have to add.

Bloom nodded her agreement. "Brandon's right. We all need to put aside our differences and work together."

Stormy made a face like the redhead had suggested she swallow a cup of Knut's toenails. "Are you suggesting we work with _you_ , our moral enemy? You can forget it. A real witch would never disgrace herself like that."

Lucrezia frowned slightly. "I don't mind fairies."

"Then you're not a real witch," snapped Stormy, voice tipped with a little too much passion.

I winced at her tone, while everyone else hissed _shhhhh._ "Are you _trying_ to give away our position?" hissed Darcy.

Stormy rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. No one's probably even noticed we're gone."

Alice's face was a mask of frigid calm. "On the contrary. As Alvaz's familiars, the shadowcrawlers are mentally tied to him—a link we severed when we exterminated them. There's a strong possibility their master felt this undoing, and has already went to investigate. For all we know, he's currently rallying whatever forces he has to retrieve us. Or he could be tracking us down himself."This was a definite fact coming from the oracle. It was my hope we'd be able to stay under the radar a little while longer but…

"So in order words, we need to come up with a game plan and fast," said Bishop, "unless you want to end up with one of _these_." He held up his wrist for emphasis.

"Yes. The wristbands are what we need to avoid at all costs," I agreed grimly, "if one of those gets snapped on, you can say goodbye to your magic." And without magic, we'd never have a second shot at freedom once Alvaz stuffed us back in our cells. "This was the only opportunity we'll get, so we can't afford to squander it."

Lucrezia, like most of us, glared at Stormy pointedly. "Which means you'd better shape up or ship out."

"Preferably the last option," said Bishop in a not-so-discreet mutter. Brandon's nod was subtle.

Stormy gritted her teeth at her peer. "Watch who you're talking to, Jaugstetter.I can see to it that you never step foot in my school again." _Mine,_ not _ours._ I had a feeling Icy, who considered _herself_ Cloud Tower's queen bee, would kick Stormy's ass for such a bold, bigheaded statement.

Lucrezia's demeanor went from defensive to _off_ ensive. She blinked twice, as if stunned by the witch's audacity. "Was that a _threat_?"

I facepalmed as Brandon (Sky) got between the two while they sized one another up. _"Not. Now,"_ he said with a flash of teeth. "You two can have at it _after_ we get our asses out of here."

The two Cloud Tower students had an intense stare-off, antagonism boiling between them, until Lucrezia wisely backed down, her face contorted with calm rage. Stormy just huffed haughtily, her expression a mirror image of Lucrezia's. Considering how aggressive the witch of storms was, something told me their showdown wouldn't be put off for long.

"We should take this somewhere less out in the open," suggested Sky (Brandon) evenly, all too aware of the tension rippling off us.

It was then I noticed just how much closer he'd inched over to Brandon (Sky). Of course; regardless of the ruse, their roles hadn't reversed. The real Brandon was still responsible for the real High Crowned Prince Sky's safety; that would always be the case. And during circumstances like this, Brandon had to be on his best guard. He'd already settled into that cold, calculating calm—I could see it in his muddy eyes. Could practically see the gears turning in his head as he registered our surroundings and coolly regarded Stormy, whose animosity and recklessness could prove to be a real hazard. And threat.

Flora, whose eyes had been paranoidly darting to and from the end of the hallway like Alvaz was going to stroll around the corner any minute, relaxed only a little. "Yes. It's not safe out here. It's only a matter of time before someone discovers us."

"Yeah, but where are we supposed to go?" asked Lucrezia, an agitated edge in her voice. From our situation or Stormy, I couldn't tell. "It's not like this is school where we can just slip into some private corner." None of this would've even been happening if we just would've kept our asses _at_ school in the first place.

Bloom shrugged. "I guess we just poke our heads around until we find an empty room we can hang out in while we work out a plan."

"That doesn't sound like a good idea," I protested, "what if we see something we shouldn't?" I didn't let my mind stray too far into the possibilities.

"You mean like _this_?" called Bishop, bringing it to my attention that he'd silently wandered from the group to the far right end of the dead-ended corridor. Much to my horror, he'd managed to budge one of the two doors ajar and was now making to peer into the contents of the room.

"Bornebolt, you dumbass!" hissed Brandon (Sky) through his teeth, starting for the Specialist as he stuck his face inside.

He reeled back just as fast, hand flying up to shield his nose as his face mutated into something horrible. "Oh, gods _damn_ ," he swore, backstepping rapidly like he was trying to get away from whatever scene he'd just beheld.

Curiosity sparked to life inside me like a gas-fueled wildfire, trumping my caution, and I found myself acting on it, rushing over to witness whatever it was that made him recoil so violently even if I ended up regretting it. The others followed suit, brushing aside their better judgment. Only Alice hung back, which should've been warning enough.

Sky (Brandon) made it over first and his reaction was nothing short of repulsed. One look had his head snapping in the other direction. "Ugh," he spat, "that is _nasty_."

This prompted Flora to freeze, her whole body stiffening and face sheeting white. "Wh-what is it?" she quivered, refusing to take another step forward in fear of what she'd behold.

That was when I smelt it.

The horrid stench that poisoned the air in the whole corridor, making everyone scrunch up their faces, making my stomach turn over. It was so bad, in fact, Karel actually froze in his tracks, like the odor had gripped him with its foul talons. There was a green tint to his cheeks.

"What the hell's that smell?" demanded Stormy.

I was about to find that out for myself. I joined the scene the same time as Brandon (Sky) and by the time we were taking a glimpse inside the room, the noisome funk had intensified by ten. We immediately discovered why.

The space was the size of a closet, completely bare save the single stone bench against the back wall and hole sunk into the ground. I squinted into the darkness, taking a closer look. Wait...was that...

What in HELL?

"Oh _gods_ ," moaned Lucrezia over my shoulder.

"We have found the shithole," announced Bishop, "I repeat: we have found the shithole."

"Correction: _you_ found it," I snapped, whirling around to face him as Brandon (Sky) quickly shut the door to privy before anyone else could see. "You moron!

Do you know how stupid that was? You can't just go around swinging open random-ass doors!" What if we'd walk in on a torture session or some shit? Or even worse: Alvaz actually _taking_ a shit?

The Specialist completely dismissed my reprimand as a complaining Stormy circulated the air around us to flush out the waste smell. I ignored the pang of jealousy her effortless demonstration of air manipulation gave me. "How else do you expect us to find a way out of this dump?" he countered, "ask somebody? No, my method is way more effective. Speaking of which—" He spun around, settings his sights on the second door. "Let's see what's' behind Door Number Two!" Before anyone could react, he made a grab for the handle, pulled, and—

Everyone else took tentative steps back as the door groaned open to reveal—

A spacious, pillared chamber. Torches burned in rusted iron brackets—weird how they were lit all throughout the dungeon, yet I had yet to discover any signs of life—casting a dramatic glow on the walls of weaponry.

Holy crap.

This place was an _armory_ , armor and weapon racks lining the walls and rusty and broken weapons littering the floor.

Bishop's face was the definition of smug as the other Specialists filed inside, inspecting the space from the floor up. A fancy assortment of knives and daggers with jeweled hilts and scabbards were anchored to the walls alongside intricate metal shields and breastplates fitted for ogres and trolls like trophies, flashy and on display in all their lethal glory. Fixed to the other wall from floor to ceiling were all types of hatchers, crossbows, rapiers, katanas, and other steely weapons I couldn't identify. A table centered the space, blades embedded deep in the wood. It was more than enough to make my breath caught. It was beautiful. Horrifyingly beautiful.

And just what we needed.

The corners of Sky's (Brandon's) mouth tugged upward. "A little old fashioned, but not bad," he admitted, folding his arms across his chest. "Not bad at all. Good work, Bornebolt."

Bishop flashed a lazily prideful grin as the rest of us entered. While Darcy and Stormy looked like they couldn't care less about our surroundings, Flora seemed very uneasy about the fashionable tools of death encircling us. Didn't blame her. Bloom, on the other hand, seemed just as fascinated as me.

Lucrezia was the last to come in, and she shut and sealed the door with several charms. "I locked and soundproofed it," she explained, ignoring Stormy's derisive eye roll. " _And_ I synced some of my mana to its metal composition so I can see through it at all times. I'll know if anyone comes in range of us."

Brandon (Sky) gave her an appreciative nod as everyone fanned out across the armory. As Sky (Brandon) weighed one of the discarded knives in his hand and Bishop made to investigate the crates in the corner, Alice gave the room a thorough once-over. "This is quite the collection," she remarked, "I wonder how old it is."

Brandon (Sky) roamed over the leftward wall, selecting a curved dagger and drawing it from its jeweled scabbard. " _I_ wonder how much of this is stolen," he scoffed, noting the regal insignia inscribed in the pommel as he turned it over in his hand.

"Speaking of stolen..." Bishop, who'd been rifling through the junk in the crates, arose grasping the hilts of deactivated phantoblades. "I found our gear!"

As the other guys gathered to retrieve their rightful weapons, I took a deep breath, bracing myself for an inevitable debate. "So what's our next move?"

"Our top priority should be finding an escape route," insisted Flora almost immediately, lowering herself onto the wooden bench.

Darcy snorted, criss-crossing her legs in a meditative position as she hovered a few feet off the ground. "Only a fairy would suggest something so cowardly," she said before closing her eyes and going silent.

"Yeah. I don't know about you losers, but I'm gonna find that Alvaz guy and fry him into oblivion," hissed Stormy through bared teeth, magenta lighting pulsing around her balled fists.

Bishop huffed. "Good luck with that, sweetheart."

I added, "If you, Darcy, _and_ Icy couldn't beat him originally, what makes you think you have a chance now?"

"Speaking of Icy, what do you think happened to her?" asked Bloom lowly, "could she have...ran into trouble?"

"Knowing her, probably yes," sighed Lucrezia while neither Stormy nor Darcy spared a shred of emotion for their older sister. She blanched. "You don't suppose Alvaz already recaptured her for his spell, do you? For all we know, she could already be..."

"No," cut in Sky (Brandon) firmly as he reclipped his phantoblade to his belt. "Icy may be an insufferable bitch, but she's not weak. She'd rather go down fighting than let that bastard have his way with her."

"Still, she may be in serious danger," pointed out Brandon (Sky), "our first course of action should be tracking down her and all the other victims."

"Don't be a fool," Stormy spat and Karel said blandly at his heroically flawed suggestion.

Brandon (Sky) flinched.

Here we go.

As usual, Bloom came to Brandon's (Sky's) defense. "I think it's a good idea," she said matter-of-factly, giving her love interest a supportive glance.

"Then you're just as naive," said Karel mercilessly and stonily, folding his arms across his chest as he leaned against a pillar. "That kind of wishful thinking will get you killed."

Bloom stiffened at his bluntness and annoyance crept into the edges of Brandon's (Sky's) face and tone. "What, so are you suggesting we just _abandon_ them?" snapped Sky (Brandon), siding with his buddy as expected. "Have you forgotten your duty? We were _trained_ for situations like this. As a Specialist—"

"This is not school, Prince," cut in Karel coolly, regarding his peer in a similar manner. "This is survival."

Flora looked like she was about to be sick.

Karel continued, "The number of abducted is unknown to us. It would be foolhardy and a waste of valuable time to search for what we have no knowledge of."

I spoke up.

"But my roommate is down here. Though I truly understand what you're saying, I won't turn my back on her." I looked at Alice pointedly. The ice fairy didn't give her input, and I had no idea what that meant. She'd obviously seen past these events in her dreams, but they did reveal the specifics? Would whatever decision we settled on here be for the better or worse? In what direction were we headed? Were we on the right track? Unfortunately, my roommate's face gave away nothing.

Stormy rolled her eyes at my sentiment. "We're not turning a blind eye to her or any of them," said Karel, "by ensuring our escape, we'd be acting in their best interests."

Brandon (Sky) started, but Lucrezia cut him off. "Oh, I see," she said. And then to us, "Think about it, guys. In a way, the fate of the others' are tied to us. We're all valuable assets, but the difference between us and them is that we're free—to an extent. If we manage to make a getaway, Alvaz and company won't have all the components to their reincarnation spell, meaning the other victims won't be in immediate danger. On the other hand, if we try to look for them and stick around longer than necessary, we risk getting recaptured. And if that happens..." No need to state the obvious.

Brandon (Sky) wasn't going to yield easily. "So you're saying we should just gamble their safety? We don't know what we're up against or who we're dealing with. For all we know, running away will only guarantee the others' fate. We should lay low for a while, scope out the area and see if we can gain some kind of advantage. That's more logical than blindly roaming around like lost sheep in hopes of stumbling upon some hidden, possibly nonexistent backdoor."

"Both of you are spineless morons," announced Stormy, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "Is running away like frightened children your answer to _everything_? If you were smart, you'd be coming up with a strategy to combat the problem head-on."

Sky (Brandon) was clearly getting annoyed. "If you're so hell-bent on kicking Alvaz's ass, why are you still here?"

Stormy pinned him with stare. Would she admit to being a bit fearful herself? Of course not. "Why else? Because it's fun watching your group slowly but steadily tear itself apart," she smirked, "for you people to be such hard-core advocates of that teamwork bullshit, you butt heads a lot. That kind of hypocritical conflict is delicious, and I'm savoring every bit of it." She bared her teeth at the brunette. "And for the record, I still intend to reduce him to a pile of ashes. Maybe after I'm finished with him I'll come throttle you for being such a smartass."

This earned her a chilly grin. "I'll take you on any time, witch. Any time."

Mind you, while all of this was transpiring, Darcy was still channeling her mana and lost in her mind, completely disconnected from reality. Lucky.

Bishop, who'd up until now been more interested in the expensive blades, finally joined the heating discussion. "You're all looking at this the wrong way," he insisted, "if anything, we should lay a trap for the bastard. Draw him out of whatever miserable hole he's squatting in and cage him like the overgrown bird he is."

Flora made to question his solution, but was interrupted by Darcy's frustrated growl. "It's hopeless," she spat, finally opening her eyes. "I can't sense anything."

"Problem, Darcy?" I asked, somewhat thankful for the distraction.

She shot me a scathing glare, but explained anyway. "I've been trying to get a read on Icy's dark aura," she said, unfolding her legs and gently landing on the stone floor. "But I can't feel _anything_. Not even that overgrown bat's mana, which I should've been drawn to like a magnet. It's like this place is deserted."

I tensed. "So...what does that mean?" asked Flora quietly.

Darcy gave her an _are you stupid?_ look. "It _means_ they layered their cloaking charms a little _too_ well; just trying to penetrate them gave me a headache. That's the handiwork of a master—no, a level _beyond_ that."

"An even better reason to bail while we can," Lucrezia grimly said in support of Karel's suggestion. "We don't stand a chance against whatever powers are at work."

"I'm telling you, that's not a good idea," argued Brandon (Sky). Honestly, I thought his was equally as risky, but it wasn't like we had the luxury of options. "When Alvaz discovers we're not where he left us—if he hasn't already—he might take his anger out on his other prisoners. The longer they sit locked up in their cells, the more they're likely to receive an...unwelcomed gust." Good point, but—

Darcy's dark eyebrows shot up. "Wait, are you seriously telling me you fools _still_ haven't decided on anything?" she hissed. "Do you realize how much precious time you've wasted? Who knows what's happened while you were all bickering like school children."

My heart sped up. "She's right. Enough arguing; let's just vote on what we should do and proceed from there."

The others exchanged glances and shrugged.

"Alright then. Let's make this quick," said Bloom, moving to the front of the room. "All in favor of confronting Alvaz directly, please raise your hand."

Only Stormy's head went up, and she didn't look too happy about it. She started to protest, but Bloom plowed ahead. "All in favor of devising a plan to ensnare Alvaz, please raise your hand."

Only Bishop raised his hand.

"Seriously?" he frowned, glancing between us. "You can't tell me it wouldn't be badass if we all combined our wits to outsmart the bad guy."

Sky (Brandon) allowed a hint of a smile. "Sorry man, but that only happens in movies." That whisper of a smile immediately vanished. This was when things got tense.

Bloom knew it too, because she took a deep breath, bracing herself. "All in favor of scouting out Icy and the other victims, raise your hand." I had a feeling she threw in Icy's name to gain extra support from Stormy and Darcy. Unfortunately for her, neither of them gave a shit about their ringleader considering they didn't vote in favor of Brandon's (Sky's) idea.

On the other hand, Brandon, Bloom, Sky, lifted a hand. After mulling it over for a moment, I joined them at the last second. I owed it to Ahisa. Even if I barely knew her, even if we rarely interacted with each other, I owed it to her. I glanced at Alice, expecting the same outcome. But the ice fairy's hands remained at her sides. Her eyes locked with me. _Trust me_ , they seemed to say. _Trust me_.

My roommate's decision didn't slip by Brandon (Sky). "Don't you care about your roommate?" he asked, doing his best not to sound accusing.

"More than you know," replied Alice softly.

"All in favor of locating an escape route as our first act, please raise your hand."

Karel, Flora, Lucrezia, and Darcy, the latter surprising me.

"Really?" Stormy snapped at her sister. "You'll side with them, but not me? I thought you were above that."

The witch of darkness rolled her eyes. "My ideology hasn't changed, Stormy. I'm just not in a hurry to fight a battle I'm not completely prepared to fight. Alvaz will get his just dessert and then some, but now isn't the time. We're still recovering from his surprise attack."

Stormy snorted. " _I'm_ fine. _You_ just don't wanna admit you're weaker than me."

Before they could spring into an argument, Bloom made to announce a tie, but Alice broke it at the last second. "Finding an exit should be our prime concern. I agree that we should rescue the other abductees, but it'd be pointless to do so without securing an escape route first." I eyed Alice suspiciously and curiously. I was more than positive there was some kind of prophetic significance to her decision. What were her intentions? Had she chosen to flip the script and do us a favor by pointing us down the safe path, or was she still set firm in her beliefs and was just nudging us toward the "inevitable" future she'd beheld in her dreams? In what direction would her prescient choice steer us? Toward protection from Alvaz? Or perhaps she was aiming to lead us right into his evil clutches for the sake of a dramatic future that was/wasn't set in stone. I didn't know, and I didn't linger on it. I had to put my faith in the seer; regardless of her influence, I had to trust that she only wanted what was best for us.

A muscle feathered in Brandon's (Sky's) jaw, but he did not protest. I knew he wanted to aid the other hostages as soon as possible, but that would have to wait.

I was sure they were fine—for now. Alvaz wouldn't touch them until the big finale, one we could hopefully prevent.

Bloom didn't make a fuss either. "Okay, then it's settled," she announced, "we'll go with Karel's plan. Now we just need someone to lead the operation. Any volunteers?"

I expected her appeal to be met with silence. After all, a lot of us were strangers to one another and in situations like these, it was easier and less stressful to fall under someone else's leadership than take charge yourself.

Stormy, apparently, couldn't relate. Now that Icy was gone, there was nothing holding her back from the power she was convinced she deserved. Thus, she didn't hesitate to step forward, an aggressive, hungry gleam in her eyes. I fought the urge to wince. This was a true hypocrite right here. She was just talking shit about us a few minutes ago, and now she wanted to preside over us?

Thankfully, Brandon (Sky) came to our rescue and appeared at her right, with Karel and Bishop planted themselves on her left. Stormy didn't bother mask her irritation. "You might as well concede defeat," she snorted at Bishop, "you don't stand a chance. None of you do."

The shapeshifter just rolled his eyes and sniped, "Sure. It's not like we were _trained_ for this at Red Fountain or anything." He had a point. Out of them all, Stormy was actually the least qualified to lead.

Stormy ignored his sarcasm and instead aimed her snark at Brandon (Sky). "What do you even think you're doing? Mundanes like you aren't worthy to be in command." Oh, so _that's_ how Stormy viewed the magic-less. As inferior.

The only indication Brandon (Sky) even heeded her was his frown.

"Alright, since we have multiple candidates, we'll vote again," said Bloom, "All in favor of Brandon raise your hand."

Everyone apart from Darcy lifted a hand in some manner, myself included. Though I may not like his clichéd character, had to give him props for boldness.

"He's blond so he's gotta be trustworthy, right?" half-joked Lucrezia by way of explanation for her vote.

"All in favor of Bishop, raise your hand."

I think Flora only lifted hers to be nice.

I expected the shifter to make a scene about his clear defeat, but he just shoved his hands into his baggy pockets and broke away from the other candidates, muttering, "You guys are so lame."

"All in favor of Karel raise your hand."

He got the same number of votes as Brandon (Sky), most likely a result of that mature ambiance about him. Right as I was about to announce Stormy's turn, Darcy decided to raise her hand on behalf of Karel at the last second, breaking his tie with Brandon (Sky). Being the girlfriend of the blond's rival, she presumably didn't want to see him come out on top even if it meant doing him a huge favor by reliving him of the burden of being in charge.

Last one. "All in favor of Stormy raise your hand."

No one even stirred.

Oh no.

"What the hell?" the witch exploded, whirling around to face her CT peers. "You'd take a fairy smoocher over me?"

"Yes," her sister replied mercilessly.

Lucrezia shrugged unapologetically. "Sorry, Stormy. Nothing personal; it's just…when it comes to cooperating with people and using your head, you're kind of…inept." I couldn't have put it better myself.

The witch of storms bared her teeth, and I knew she was on the verge of a level-five tantrum. But I disregarded her nonetheless. "I guess this means you got the job, Karel," I said to the Specialist, who didn't bat an eye at his winning. A good thing, too. I found him the most suitable.

Sore-Loser Stormy's face mutated into something horrendous. "No," she spat, stubbornly stomping her foot. "No way am I yielding to Red Fountain scum."

"Well, you lost fair and square so you kind of have to," said Bloom matter-of-factly.

The witch of storms glowered at her. "Bullshit. That's not even how real leaders come into power. It's not about numbers." She set her stormy gaze on Karel. "No, it's about _strength_. Only the strongest are worthy of standing at the top."

Wait, was she honestly trying to pick a fight _now_? She was taking this _wayyy_ too seriously, and for all the wrong reasons.

"Guess you better sit down then," drawled Sky (Brandon).

Stormy was too worked up to retort.

"Wait, weren't you just bad-mouthing us a few minutes ago?" I pointed out

The teal-haired Specialist met her glare unflinchingly. "Is that a challenge?" he asked coolly, unruffled by the witch's near murderous scowl.

I swear lighting cackled in Stormy's pupils are she sized up her opponent with a mixture of distaste and blatant interest. "You bet it is. You and I were destined to clash anyway." When Karel lifted an inquisitive eyebrow, she purred, "What, you thought I wouldn't catch on to the fact we share an element? I would know a thunder magician anywhere. The same eclectic energy pulses around us all. Ever since you showed up I've been wondering whose lightning is stronger—now's the perfect to find out."

Flora, who'd withered under the tension, revived and shot up. "Now wait a minute—"

Karel didn't even cast a glance at her, eyes locked with Stormy's as he pushed off the pillar. On cue, everyone stepped aside to give them room—well, everyone but Flora. "Stand back," Karel said in her direction. Flora started, but he cut her off. "Stand back, Flora."

Flora's face flushed, and I couldn't tell if it was from the cold order or the fact he'd finally addressed her by her name. Though the nature fairy looked troubled, she didn't voice her worries and wisely obeyed as Stormy and Karel took to separate ends of the room. It would be a lie if I said wasn't a little pumped up. We were about to get a firsthand demonstration of lighting magic! It was one of the many I had yet to witness directly. Even Bishop, who'd been kicking at the loose stones and complaining under his breath about his unpopularity, watched attentively as the two warmed up, flexing their fingers as they allowed sparks to pass between them and charge their muscles.

Darcy looked more or less disinterested as she joined us on the sidelines of the chamber. "Make this quick, Stormy," she said expectantly.

Stormy just flashed a confident grin, not breaking Karel's gaze. "Don't I always?"

Karel released a huff at that. "One strike, witch."

That was fine with Stormy. "Trust me—" she smirked, rallying her magic. "That's all I need!" Without warning, she thrust a hand forward and sent lines of magenta lightning raging toward Karel.

Karel had equally fast reflexes. Half a movement had his cerulean electricity blasting toward hers. They collided with a sizzling clap of thunder and a brilliant clash of colors. I felt the static charges cling to me, making the hairs on my arms and head raise.

The two sorcerers conjured their thunder in continuous streams, the respective veins pushing against each other.

Stormy added more force to hers and it began to overpower Karel's. She let out a wild, thrilled laugh. "Is that all you got? _Pathetic_!" She pushed harder, her lighting stretching longer.

"Karel!" yelped Flora as the Specialist was pushed back as a result, his boots scraping against the stone.

Stormy cackled like the arrogant bitch she relentlessly multiplied the intensity of her lightning over and over, shoving Karel closer and closer toward the wall his backside faced.

Bishop spat a curse. "He's gonna lose," he said, obviously not pleased with the idea of Stormy having reign over him. That made two of us.

"No," said Lucrezia and Brandon (Sky) at the same time. All heads turned to them. Even a bored Darcy had an _are you blind_? look on her face.

"Look at him," said Brandon (Sky) distantly, sky-blue eyes glued to the match. "Though Stormy is overwhelming him, he doesn't looked strained. It's like...he's not even trying." Sure enough, when I took a closer look, I discovered the prince was right; Karel's face didn't show any signs of struggle. Though the exchange appeared one-sided, Karel wasn't toiling to rival her magic like he should've been. In fact...he wasn't putting in much effort at all. His face was cold, yet even. Anticipating. This was intentional, I then realized. He was _letting_ her have the upper hand, _letting_ her think victory was hers.

At this point, Karel's back was mere inches from kissing the wall. While Stormy's lightning had to have gained at least a few feet in length, Karel's had shortened drastically, slowly but steadily being eaten away.

"It's over!" cackled Stormy, certain of her win. "Yield if you know what's best for you!" She roared with laughter. "This was just _too_ easy!"

I couldn't explain it, but there was something different about Karel's face as he said, "Indeed."

And his eyes flashed golden.

Before anyone could register what was going on, Karel amplified the voltage of his thunder and it surged from his fingertips with newfound ferocity, completely splitting through Stormy's and raging straight for the bitch.

She didn't have time to retaliate and in the nanosecond it took me to blink, the golden electricity was colliding square with her chest. The exertion of the attack threw her backwards her backwards but before she could make a violent landing on her ass, she grabbed at a few snaps of wind and used them to catch and correct herself before falling to her knees in a spasming, steaming heap.

Darcy's jaw dropped and Sky (Brandon) just gave an evil chuckle.

"Well, that's that," said Lucrezia simply, using a spell to fix our frizzy, sticking-out-at-odd-angles hair.

Though he looked a tad bit concerned, Brandon (Sky) didn't _dare_ approach Stormy as he called to her, "You alright?"

Stormy lifted her hand, murderous eyes fueled with hateful fire as Karel walked past her, his own eyes cooling to their normal blue. "We head out now," he announced, already falling into the role of commander. He gestured at the wall of weapons. "Take whatever you need. I'm sure we'll have a few run-ins."

"Dibs!" shouted Bishop and Sky (Brandon), rushing at the spread of weapons. They reminded me of kids at a candy store as they enthused over the wide selection.

"This is going to be a nightmare," groaned Darcy, facepalming as the two sprang into an argument after reaching for the same dagger.

Judging how at odds our dysfunctional, newly formed group was, I was honestly inclined to agree.

...

It was a miracle Stormy hadn't blown a fuse yet.

She was a brooding force behind me as we walked; I could practically _feel_ that pent-up rage roiling inside her. I didn't know how she'd managed to leash it this long, but I knew it was only a matter of time before she exploded. Hopefully, there'd be some shadowcrawlers in her path when that happened.

Speaking of shadowcrawlers, where _were_ they?

We had once again taken to the halls and were in search of them; taking into account how Alvaz had had some stationed around the cells, it could be assumed that their sole task was to guard only the significant sectors of the dungeon. Tracking them down would put us on the right path, but this place was empty as a graveyard all of a sudden.

I started to ask Karel, who was at the head of our group, if we were going in circles, but Bishop cut me off.

"Um, guys? You might wanna come see this..."

Everyone paused in the tracks and turned to find Bishop had fallen back and opened one of the two dramatic, towering bronze doors I thought we all agreed we wouldn't fuck with.

Firing a string of curses at the Specialist, I hurried over as he disappeared inside the new chamber, the others not far behind.

I followed him inside and when I zeroed in on the cause of his turmoil, I nearly shut down with fear.

This was an underground amphitheater.

And standing in the arena was none other than Icy and the Bloodhound.

* * *

 **Whew! I thought I'd** _ **never**_ **get this chapter finished. This has to be the** _ **longest**_ **chapter I've ever written; a fifth of a thousand words! I could've broken it down into two or three separate chapters, but that would've contradicted the outline I worked out a** _ **year**_ **ago. So I decided to mash up everything into one huge chapter to make up for the two months I've been MIA.**

 **I cannot express how accomplished I feel right now. I've been grappling with these past two chapters for about 4-7 moths now. Originally, this whole arc was supposed to have been finished way back in the first quarter of the year, but now we're a little less than two months away from 2019. And honestly, I'm glad my plans were delayed. The initial ideas I had for this arc back in November 2017 don't hold a candle to the ones that have sprung into my mind over the course of the year. I am more patient, more creative, than I was last year and my mental improvements have drastically enhanced the plot of** _ **O Wondrous Wielder of the Winds.**_ **The completion of Revelations Part One and Two marks a major milestone in my overall fan-fic career, and I'm so excited to finally expand the story beyond them.**

 **It might take me some time to post the next chapter. Unlike 29 and 30, I have to write 31 from scratch. Wish me luck….**


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